Silver Mountain's Revenge
by Macross-Green
Summary: My first attempt at AW fanfiction. A country hidden from the recent wars emerges from the ashes of Black Hole's latest defeat to exact revenge.
1. Default Chapter

Author's Note: This is my first go at Advance Wars fanfiction. Keep that in mind, please. I've read quite a few others in this genre from this site, but I hope the authors don't mind when I say that I don't want to imitate what they've already done. I much prefer staying at least somewhat original, as far as writing fanfics on a game that quite a few people have already done. Anyway, enjoy, and please review after all is said and done! Any similarities between original characters in this fic (most commonly, the names) is coincidental. Oh yeah... I don't own Advance Wars. It'd be nice to own the series, but I don't. I own a copy of the game, but none of the characters that were provided by it. Oh well.

---

To the north were mountains. To the west, the ocean. Neither myself or my opponent had any naval forces, so nothing to worry about there, thank goodness. No, my forces were engaged in a defensive front and feint to the south and east. My opponent's rocket launchers and mobile artillery fired just before my tanks could rush them- fortunately, the strikes did very little damage against my fortified forces, though I did lose an already damaged artillery unit. Dammit, another squad of soldiers lost!

It had been a stalemate for a while now- While I kept shoring up the defenses, he would keep tearing them down. I had sent in a squad of recon vehicles and a pair of mechanized infantry to draw some fire away, to buy us some time to finish work on some new units. Each of us had tanks engaged, artillery and rocket launchers providing support. Unfortunately, my opponent had a longer reach with his indirect firing units. But soon, there would be a new problem for the man to deal with. I had sent, earlier in the battle, several units to the direct east, where there was an airport stationed. It was the only one in the immediate area, and while the CO I was facing had no infantry dispatched, I had quite a few securing the airport.

Then a message came in from one of the infantry troops. The airport was ours! I ordered them to begin building a Battle Copter, and then I knew what would be needed more than anything. There were a pair of missile launchers behind the line of indirect firing units that had simply been idle since the beginning of the campaign. A nearby explosion told me that a medium tank unit, that had been brought into our territory for repairs, had just been targetted and destroyed by artillery and rockets.

"Dammit. That's it. I want two new medium tanks ready very soon. Switch production over to them now!" the commanding officer demanded, and then he walked off to his personal APC. Now was the time for him to join the battle personally. To the driver of the APC, he told him to stick to the cities and forests if possible. There was no fog of war conditions, unfortunately- if there was, he would be at more of an advantage.

"Now... bring up the reserve tanks and destroy those rocket units! I don't care so much about the artillery, the rockets and missile launchers must be finished or badly damaged!" he told everyone over the phone that had been installed in his APC for good reason. The APC came to rest beside a pair of tank units and a rocket launcher unit, and his troops immediately sprang into action, resupplying the units beside the APC with fuel and ammunition. He hopped out of the APC, giving his troops a salute as he went over to the undamaged tank unit that the APC had stopped beside, and then he entered the nearest one.

He would command this charge personally. "Alright, move out! Our target is the rocket unit straight ahead." he told the men and the driver nodded, turning back to look out front. A deafening barrage of artillery shells and rocket fire came from all around, and then the tank was moving. Up ahead, rockets and shells converged on the already damaged frontline of the opponent's units. A unit of Rocket Launchers loomed before him as they passed their own front line, now going into enemy lines, and they emerged into a city. "Fire!"

Five tank units sounded and 3 damaged units of Rocket launchers and artillery were destroyed. Two of his medium tanks engaged the smaller, weaker tank divisions and wiped out a unit of tanks each, even as his reserves pulled up to the front line to stop any of his opponent's machines from proceeding deep into his own territory. Then, there was a bit of calm for a moment before the CO raised his hands and grinned. "Defensive Might!"

The order was noticed by all of his men, and they worked double time to increase their defenses. The enemy wouldn't know what to expect, but would understand soon enough. The enemy's own tanks converged on the units that had found their way deep into his territory, but found that the counterattacks of the five tank units deal more damage in return than they could do to them! The enemy's artillery units, the only indirect firing units still available to the opponent, launched another attack of shells upon the targetted tanks that were deep inside enemy territory.

His tank shook as shells rocked it. He lost two tanks from his division of ten, but his defensive might held up, his tank counterattacking the opponent's tanks as they hit, his unit in general dealing far more damage than they were sustaining. It was this power of the CO's that had brought him to the attention of his superiors, the reason for this battle. It was not over yet, and it was not time to think about his power. Just let it work and save the people under his command.

There was a calm outside, and the CO checked the latest reports that were forwarded to him. The enemy's frontline had collapsed thanks to the superior counterattack strength and defensive might of his units! The way to the artillery was cleared. The medium tanks were ready, the ones he had ordered built, and the young CO smiled. "Full attack!" he called out, and then the entire scene was gone.

---

The CO saluted as a man and two others walked towards him. The man in the lead clapped his hands twice before saluting in return and ordering the CO to stand at ease. His hand came to rest behind his back as he watched the man before him. He had dark brown hair cut short to his head, a gray uniform on that displayed the bars and awards for different campaigns that he had commanded and survived in. His eyes were serious but not fully like steel- this was a man who could still feel emotion and fight at the same time.

"Well done, Arik. You successfully routed commander Net here. You had us worried for a while, I must admit." the older man said to him. The CO that stood before him, the young man that had just been called Arik, nodded slightly in return. Indeed, Net had very nearly finished him off before he had been able to use Defensive Might. Net was a lot like a certain other commander of Wars World, but did lack a few critical things... most notably, defense.

"Yes sir." was all that the young CO said in reply. Who was he to speak back to the leader of the Silver Mountain forces? This man had almost single-handedly defeated the remainder of the 'aliens' who had invaded several years ago. Nothing had been heard of from those strangers for almost a year now, but ever since then, their land had become a military nation. The elder CO nodded slightly at the response, and then smiled slowly.

"Now I know that we made a good decision, adding you to our ranks of CO's. With your abilities, I do believe that we can hold on in any war." he told the young man, who just watched the older CO. Indeed, Arik was not sure if he was supposed to say anything or not- he had heard that Lance, the man before him, liked to talk to himself while speaking with others. It was apparantly something he had picked up since his campaigns against the Black Hole armies that he had routed, after their main force had been transported away.

"You shall go with Sheila here and take our navy east towards the place that is known as Orange Star. Intelligence has proven that there are several continents out that way, and perhaps we will find Black Hole there as well. If you find them, you are to send word back to us. Until then, we will prepare for an invasion of Black Hole's land." Lance told him, and Arik saluted him. Lance nodded once more, giving the new CO a salute in return before turning and walking away. Then, the young CO was stuck with the aides who had been standing behind Lance during the whole conversation.

The woman on the left had blonde hair and wore her uniform in a loose fashion- the white shirt she wore beneath the gray uniform could be seen, the uniform itself unbuttoned save for the top two buttons on it. She was smiling at the new CO, and Arik couldn't help but to smile back to the attractive woman before he looked over to the man beside her. This man wasn't smiling in the slightest, and it wasn't difficult to determine why. He had black hair and a pale complexion, and a frown on his face that could drown most any smiles in the immediate area.

This man was Net, the CO he had just fought against in the simulator mission that they had just been in. The man was considered a tactical genius when it came to anti-naval and anti-aircraft warfare. The problem is, he couldn't counterattack worth a damn, and his naval and airforce couldn't stand against a well-timed attack. There was no real reason he shouldn't have been able to defeat the new CO, save for the obvious fact that was pointed out.

"Well now Net, looks like you underestimated our new comrade. Who knew he could actually outlast your attacks like he did, eh?" the woman said, teasing the man that stood beside her. The tone of her voice made Arik doubt that the woman did that just for fun. She said that in such a way as to almost demean him! The young CO could only wonder what kind of relationship the two had, even as a finger made itself known to the young woman that had spoken to Net.

"Ah, shove it, Sheila. We had to test his abilities against mine, and we did. Besides, if I'd been able to get more money, he would've been swamped over by my rockets and shelling. Proved it to you before, haven't I?" the man said, and she just started shaking, her face reddened by the memory of what Net had done to her in simulator missions before. Net grinned slightly, and then looked back to his new comrade. "Well, perhaps congratulations are in order. It is rare that anyone manages to outfight me in logistics and in tactics. Well played, but I will beat you next time, kid."

Arik grinned slightly and nodded slowly at that. He didn't care so much for bragging rights as these two were doing. What he'd done was save people, civilians and military, with his own ability. That's all that the kid ever wanted to do, really. He'd seen enough suffering among the civilians when Black Hole had been here. Their scientists had taken many of the civilians and soldiers that had survived their brutal attacks, and none were ever seen again. No one knew what happened to them, but all knew what happened to those who had fought against them in rebellion.

---

"All prisoners must now stand to receive judgment for their crimes." the monotone voice said, coming from a helmeted soldier of Black Hole. A woman had stood before the rest and spit at the Black Hole soldier, the projectile impacting the torso of the man in the armored suit. The soldier did not move, not making any motion as to wipe it off as it slowly slid downwards thanks to gravity. The woman stood defiant, and then all watched as a man came out from behind the door that the soldier had been standing beside.

He looked much like an old B-rated movie villain reject, wearing a dark helmet and suit of armor that covered his entire body. His breathing... wait, there was no sound of breath being drawn from the air. Was he breathing at all? Quite possibly not. He took one glance at the rebels that had been collected, and then he gazed about the small auditorium that the audience for this judgment had been gathered into. "Know that this is what awaits any that defies Black Hole's will and ways. Observe!" and then he raised his right hand slowly until it came to rest at eye level with the man.

His hand clenched, and then he quickly dropped it down. The soldiers that blocked the doors did not move as a scream broke out. The man was gone almost as soon as his hand had dropped. Arik had been one of the few who could guess what was about to happen, and he made his way to a vent as panic made itself known among the crowd. People started clawing at the guards, who simply took the butt of their weapons to their heads to knock them aside. There was an unearthly noise that erupted from above, and as Arik managed to squeeze through the vent just barely in time...

There was the sound of flames, a heat that was practically unbearable. He'd had to close his eyes to the horror, the screams of pain and death that lasted only a short moment before all was quiet after the explosion occured. He shuddered, burned badly. The wall that had contained him a moment before was gone completely, leaving him exposed to the heat and power that had been the result of a Meteor Strike. How exactly he had survived, even though he had managed to escape most of the attack, was beyond his understanding. Soldier and civilian alike perished in the hellish flames from beyond the atmosphere, yet he had remained alive.

---

It was those burns that he felt now. Along his arms and legs, scars from the burns he had felt that day made themselves known as heat came from them. The boy never knew cold from that day forward, save for when they had managed to get him to a field hospital and saved his life. He'd been a minor celebrity that day, having survived an attack that had killed many others. Most, however, held him in contempt- why had he lived, and their family or loved ones died? What made him special enough to live while the others did not?

The young man had had no answers for those questions. He didn't know, just knew that he should've died along with the others that day. The only thing that he could think that would have saved him was the fact that he had not panicked, unlike what so many others had done. Since then, he had devoted his life to the army, to protecting the families and homes of others... since he had neither left for himself. His own family had died during the Black Hole's original attack upon Silver Mountain.

The other two CO's were gone now, Sheila having given the young man a worried look as she walked with Net to the exit of the training facility. Now, he was alone, as he had been for quite some time. Perhaps it would always be this way? No, it was doubtful, for there was both dark and light in a day, so sometime he would actually be able to enjoy the light. Besides, there was a mission to do, that had been set before him. Orange Star awaited.

Elsewhere in Wars World ---

"Dang it! Max, you're cheating!" came the shrill voice of a young man who had just had the overwhelming desire to throw a controller at the nearest inconvenient wall. Too bad his skills as a mechanic didn't include working on game controllers, eh? With a grin, the large muscle man just sat back in the couch that was his alone- he was far too big to be able to share a normal sized couch with anyone other than the smallest people, after all.

"Ah, can it Andy. We both know that when it comes to direct combat, real life or in a game, I'm the king!" he taunted, and the young man sighed. Well, you had to give that much to Max. They were playing a fighting game, and now the muscle-bound freak had won over a dozen matches in a row! It was almost humiliating... except, they were playing a game that had come out years ago, possible before Andy had even been born. Damned Street Fighter 2, he thought. It was so slow and the controller was nearly unresponsive compared to the newer versions of the game.

They both heard a sigh come from behind them, and from couch and floor, the two stood up as the beaten up face of Guile flashed on the screen with a countdown beside it. "Come on you two, Nell's got news for us. Not to mention our old advisor's back, too. Let's go, it sounds important if they brought him back." came the redhead's voice. Sami, infantry specialist, had been watching the two as they finished up their last match. Little did they know that she was also a specialist when using Chun-Li, but she never did bother matching up against them- they'd never know what hit 'em, after all.

It took only a minute or two for them to walk down the hall from the rec room to the meeting room where Nell always called them to when she had news of an invasion, a new war, or just to tell them that their funding was being reduced again. Ever since the last black Hole war, the government had been steadily reducing the army's funds, instead rebuilding destroyed cities and such with the 'liberated' money. This time, they entered the room silently, though Andy was still fuming over losing to Max for so long, and Max smiling because he had beat the kid over a dozen times in a row. Sami at least was ready for the meeting, quiet because she had a hunch as to what was going on.

Nell turned from the advisor, who went to sit on a chair beside the projector that was being used for the briefing. "I trust you have all heard rumors that unidentified ships have been sighted in the eastern sea, haven't you?" she asked the three. Max and Andy blinked and stared blankly at Nell. The eastern Sea hadn't been traversed by anyone in recent memory, storms having formed almost constantly in the region had blocked that route for nearly a decade. Of course, those two didn't know that, but Sami did, and she nodded while the other two obviously looked as if they hadn't a clue as to any of this.

Which was par for the course, to be truthful. Andy was either playing games, at the military academy testing new students, or working on his troops' vehicles. Max was always playing war games with his troops. Only Sami ever really took the time to enjoy the peacetime, often away from Orange Star on presumably 'personal business.' Of course, Nell knew better, and even Andy knew better than that. Too bad the infantry specialist wouldn't confirm or deny their accusations, though the blush that developed on her cheeks when confronted about her time off usually tipped the two off. Max didn't care, as long as the young girl came back safely.

Nell sighed- the attractive blonde woman held up a clipboard and then read off from it. "There has been sightings of a fleet about two days away from the western coast of Orange Star. Both our troops and Blue Moon's troops under Colin's direction have seen this fleet. It is a large fleet- submarines are not among the fleet that we have seen, but they could be submerged. There is no island along the route that they have taken that possesses a naval base, so they must have some way of keeping supplied. There are different ships that have been sighted as well- not just battleships, cruisers, and landers, though there are several of each as well. There are two groups, and they are traveling with one another, not fighting against each other."

Andy smiled a little bit- new units? Maybe whoever it is would let him take a look inside them... if they were friendly, anyway. If not, well, maybe there'd be some way to get close enough to 'em to check them out from outside. Max was a bit more worried- ships usually meant indirect firing units. Tanks couldn't go out onto water, after all, and though he was good with bombers, cruisers easily dealt with 'em. Sami was worried as well- her hometown was on the west coast of Orange Star, and intelligence reports indicated that should the fleet attempt to land on the coast, they would likely wind up very close to her home.

"We cannot take this report lightly. I doubt that they are Black Hole in origin, but we cannot take any chances if Hawke has decided to return. Sonja has yet to find Black Hole's hidden base, but until then we still must take this very seriously. Sami, Andy, I want you two to take your divisions to the west coast and deploy defensively. If they are hostile, we do not want them gaining a hold on our beach. Max, you better stay back here." Nell said, and she set the clipboard down, pulling up projections for the supposed landing site that the naval force that had been spotted would attempt to land at.

"Set up around here. There are a few bases in the area, but remember that we have little money at the moment. Only mobilize what you must from the bases. You'll have to make do with what you have right now and work with that. Make sure that you have artillery and rocket launcher units available- if they do land, you should be able to heavily damage any units on the beach or on the water. Our navy is too far away from the landing site to be of any help. Good luck, you two." she told them. Andy and Sami nodded to their commanding officer and then stood up, walking to the door. Andy didn't seem all that excited in battle, for once. Sami thought that, perhaps, the last war had beat that excitement and intensity out of him. Hopefully, that was the case.

---

"Father! I've just received reports from Grit in Blue Moon of a fleet heading towards Orange Star." came a girl's voice. The older man, possibly in his forties, wore a yellow uniform and carried a katana at his side. He sat in his chair- peacetime was a chore for a modern-day samurai. His troops still trained and he trained with them, but all soldiers required a day off. And even the leader of the Yellow Comet forces was no exception. But when his beloved daughter, the raven haired girl that led the largest network of spies and intelligence operatives in the world, spoke, he always listened.

And, quite often, over-reacted. "A new fleet? Black hole! Kanbei will crush them this time, and they will know how a Samurai's rage knows no bounds!" he exclaimed, jumping out of his chair and to his feet. The two were at home, though it was most often used as his daughter's headquarters for their intelligence network. Sonja simply rolled her eyes and sighed. At least she hadn't told him that the dryer had eaten one of his socks again. He'd sliced up two dryers since the first time that had occurred.

"No, father. I don't believe that it is Black Hole. The ships aren't the same design or color, according to Grit. I want to go there and see for myself." she said, to which her father suddenly became defensive. His baby girl, go out and face a battle, alone? On another country's soil? Never! He had nearly lost her once before, but never again would it be allowed. Not even if it was Orange Star, the most peaceful country that Wars World had had in the past decade or so. The risk was too great, and his daughter was impetuous, though often right in all regards: battle, direction, intelligence gathering and the location of his sock drawer.

"Never! They do not pose an open threat to Yellow Comet, do they? We shall wait here. Yellow Comet does not begin battles- we defend our country with all our might and skill. The way of the samurai is not to rush into battle that we begin. Our country must be served better than that." the emporer of the country replied. It was time for Sonja to sigh softly- she couldn't simply tell him that she would go, with or without her father's permission. It was his stubbornness that she had inherited, as well as the will to defend her nation.

But her intelligence network spanned over all the continents of Wars World these days. Green Earth, Blue Moon, Orange Star... these were the only countries that she had ever known of. She had heard of rumors of other continents, ever peaceful ones, elsewhere beyond Green Earth and Orange Star, but never had there been sight of a fleet of ships other than Black Hole's before now that would come beyond their four country's borders. How could she simply leave the surveillance of the newcomers to their countries to her own operatives?

"However, do you not think that it would be wise to send her as long as she remained reasonably safe, Kanbei?" came the older CO's voice. Sensei was known as never having lost a single battle in his time, and that was still true even during the second Black Hole war. His ability at rallying troops had been invaluable, and had saved all three Yellow Comet CO's from a suicide bombing created by Black Hole. Both Sonja and Kanbei looked to the wizened old man, who was quite old but still in control of his own sanity, thankfully enough. A look of hope appeared on Sonja's face- with Sensei's help, she had often been able to do what Kanbei would otherwise not allow her to do.

"But... this is not a problem for Yellow Comet, Sensei. There is no fleet coming upon our borders yet, now is there?" was the reply that the stubborn Emporer of the country gave the old man. Sensei chuckled a little before nodding slightly, eyes not really opening as he looked from the Emporer, to his daughter, and then back to his student once more. Both Sensei and Sonja had caught what Kanbei had said.

"Not yet, perhaps, but it is always wise to remain prepared for if they do come, is it not?" the old man asked, and Kanbei blinked, considering this. Of course, it was wise, but was it wise to send Sonja out to reconnoiter when their intelligence operatives already knew of the sighting and were keeping watch? Then again... Sonja had said that their information came from Blue Moon's commander Grit. A good man, but Kanbei despised long distance fighting that Grit specialized in. With a sigh, he realized several things- he was being manipulated once again, and that Sonja had been right. She was obviously the one to go, for she could see things where other could not, and was still a very good CO in a battle.

"Very well. But I want you to stay out of sight and trouble, my daughter. Go to see Nell, and stay in the command center she has in Orange Star. I want a call every day!" he told his daughter, who just smiled and bowed to her father. Of course, she would not give him any undue reason to worry if she could help.

"Of course, Father." she said to him, and spared Sensei a glance so as to thank the old man, and then she was running down the hallway. There was no time to waste, if she were to arrive in Orange Star in time to keep watch personally upon the incoming fleet. She couldn't help but to wonder if Andy would be there as well? They both enjoyed a somewhat strained friendship, thanks to her father's disapproval of the boy. And he had been one of the CO's that had saved her, no less! There was little to be done in this world that could impress her father to the amount that he would approve of the boy, but Sonja hoped for some day that they could at least provide a vacation for the Orange Star CO's. They had done so much to help their country against Black Hole- it was the least that they could do.

Kanbei would never approve, but perhaps it would be possible... someday.

---

Author's Note: Well, I think that'll do it for a beginning chapter. I'll actually have more people coming in (the CO's of other countries, most notably) later on, but for now I just wanted to focus in on a few characters to see if I can get their attitudes down. Yeah, I was a little hard on Andy and Max, but I do like Andy. I think I may have changed his personality a little bit already, what do you think? Please leave a review! 


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! I was shocked to get reviews of that much praise already (personally, I thought I might've been a bit further off on the characterizations). I appreciate the compliments, and as for Andy-Sonja pairings... I can see an obvious possibility for the two, but then again, that's almost as obvious as an Eagle-Sami pairing. I would say they're about the same age, after all, so no worries there. It'll be how I get their personalities down that will help me to decide on that point. I can tell that you guys were a little disappointed in the fact that Green Earth was nowhere to be seen (you made it pretty obvious!), but don't you worry. They'll be around in this chapter or the next. I'm only worried about one character, at this point... Grit. I may have to wait for the third chapter to bring him in. lol

Tron Bonne: Hey, you! Get to work on Battle for Terra, you lazy author!

MacrossGreen: Dammit, Tron! Stay outta here! Completely wrong game!

Tron: You mentioned another game in the last chapter, so what's the biggie of another one, hm?

MacrossGreen: sigh Damned muses... I might have to set you up with Andy!

Andy: looks up from playing Civilization 3 Huh? Who's that? sees Tron and his face goes pale Uh-oh...

Tron: grins and pulls out some rope Another mechanical genius, eh? MINE!

MacrossGreen: watches as Tron starts chasing Andy around If you guys recognize the game that Tron's from, two points for you! Sorry about the advertising, too. Now, on with the fic... before I have to clean up after them!

---

It was a glorious day at sea... at least, it was for one of the convoy commanders. Oh yes, Sheila was having a grand time, having practically been born on the ocean and having weathered several powerful storms in her lifetime as well. She was grinning as she held the 'steering wheel' of her flagship. The waves battered against the hull of her powerful craft, and the only sound she could hear was her own humming to a tune of her own devising. Unfortunately, her bridge crew could hear her off-tuned humming, but they were rather brave about trying to not listen to it. Not really possible, but at least they managed to tune her out after so many days at sea.

"According to the map, Orange Star should only be a few days out from here, right?" she called out, the humming stopped and the bridge crew seemed to smile all at the same time. Finally! The officer in charge of keeping track of their course nodded to her before speaking, realizing that she wouldn't look away from ahead of the ship unless it was an emergency. 

"Yes, ma'am. According to the map, and our scouting submarines, we are less than a week away from the continent. According to our submarine commanders, there is indication of mobile artillery in the area, but nothing else as of yet." the officer said, and the CO simply smiled. The Orange Star military was mobilized, was it? Or was it Orange Star? Perhaps it was Black Hole in disguise? No... the officer wouldn't have left out a detail like that. Her men knew better than to make that sort of mistake. Their country had suffered for years under Black Hole's oppressive hand, and a single man or woman from this generation didn't have some memory of that in their lives.

Black Hole or Orange Star, it mattered not to this CO. If the people on land attempted to attack, she had a force that could overwhelm most any unwelcome defenders that might be on the shores of the land she would be seeing soon. Obviously, Orange Star was wiggling the bait a little... perhaps she should tease the landlubbers by nibbling on the worm? It was an interesting idea, to say the least. But perhaps she should speak with her fellow CO about her idea first?

Now that she thought about the newcomer to the rank of being a CO, she couldn't help but to consider the boy. He was average height, weight, and wasn't abnormally cute or attractive. He was simply... there. But she knew him fairly well, ever since the day that he had been reported to have survived Sturm's Meteor Strike attack during one of the massacres that had taken place. Ever since the boy had joined the military, he'd served with distinction under Lance's command during the drive to overthrow the Black Hole military that had kept the country under their rule for so long. There was something about Arik that made her smile, though. It was his determination to keep his people as safe as possible and still win through the day. It was something to be respected...

Unlike the bitch that came to mind after a moment of thought. The smile that had graced her face dissolved away into an instant of pure hatred. Her eyes closed for a split second as she allowed her feelings to take control. The woman that acted so callously with her forces, using a battlefield as a playground. Always, the girl thought herself superior and with better tactics than anyone else in the world. That damned Black Hole CO that used her own hometown as a place to test her new weapons on. Powerful tanks, stronger than medium tanks and with enough firepower to wipe out most anything on the ground. Ones that seemed to almost 'walk' over everything, especially infantry. Indeed, the Neotanks had been her design and had been tested on Silver Mountain's remaining cities after Black Hole had taken over the country.

Her eyes opened, a look of resolve on her face as the flash of anger passed by. She was in control once more, now. Lash, that's what Lance had said her name was. A selfish girl that would either get her way or kill any that would be in it. Without a doubt, she was the one that had engineered so many of Silver Mountain's defeats from the inside, either betrayed by their own countrymen or sent into chaos by a well-timed and coordinated attack. Sheila had faced her once, long ago... it was only on one of Lash's little changes of heart (she had a chaotic little mind, after all, and strange ideas that she entertained every so often) that had spared her life... but before her eyes, her father had been killed, cut down by an entire Neotank squad. She had been forced to watch, with her mother, as her father, a man that had done no wrong, was used as target practice by her troops with heavy machine guns.

"Get me Arik on the line. I need to go over a plan with him." she told the officer, finally. A phone was handed to her, and she asked for the CO of the other part of the fleet. It took a few moments, but then he was on the line. "Arik, I have an idea... I was wondering if you might be interested in joining in on it?"

---

"Oh..." was all that the CO of the second fleet had been saying for the longest time. Who would've known that he would get seasick? Maybe it was the small storm that they'd passed through the other day, but since about the halfway point between Orange Star and Silver Mountain, the entire trip was getting to him. Not even the seasickness pills were helping much, though now he felt much better than he had the other day. Arik wasn't used to being in a ship- a tank, a bomber, a plane, a copter, no problem. But ships weren't exactly his specialty... not that his naval units were weaker, by any means, he just didn't like being in a ship for extended periods of time.

Then, there was a knock on his door. He'd been in his quarters for a while now, trying to keep up his strength. He hadn't been able to eat anything and keep it down for two days now, thanks to this damned sickness. "What is it?" he called out, and immediately winced. His throat was parched, and his voice just wasn't the same. The officer came in and saluted sharply, and Arik returned it before nodding at him, before pouring a glass of water for himself and taking a sip from it. Ah, much better. "Go ahead, officer."

"Sir! You have a call from CO Sheila, sir!" the man said, and Arik groaned a little. The man was far too... chipper, for his tastes right now. And loud. Arik nodded, and took another sip. Who knew how long they would be talking on the phone? Sheila was pretty talkative at times. The officer left, and Arik left behind him, pausing only to shut the door to his quarters before following again.

"Hello?" he asked once he made it to the phone, and he smiled slightly as he listened to the woman's idea. Ah... try to draw out the forces onto the shoreline before they arrive? Using the submarines, that is. He nodded slightly, still smiling as he listened to a few more details. "Uh-huh... okay... Yeah... huh? What was that last bit?" he asked. He knew he had only sounded like he wasn't listening for a moment there, but then she threw him for a loop, asking if he would ask her out on a date! "You tease!" he exclaimed, his smile growing bigger as he shook his head. A few more words from his partner on this operation had him laugh, and then he just stared at the ceiling for a moment, quiet. "I don't think it is such a good idea to be talking about that sort of thing when we're so close to our objective, is it? Maybe after the operation is over, we can talk seriously about this." he told her, serious but still smiling. At least the ship crew that were at their stations around him didn't have a clue as to what she'd asked!

She was a nice person, he thought to himself. Why had she been so mean to Net, though? There wasn't any real reason for it, as far as he knew, but then again those two had been CO's for far longer than he had been. He set the phone down and chuckled softly, closing his eyes as he relaxed for a moment. That little distraction certainly brought him back into good spirits, and he looked around the room slowly before grinning slightly. "I'll be in the mess hall if anyone needs me." he told the crew, and then was off. The crew knew better than to follow him- he wound up in the head, more often than not, after he was done eating.

In Orange Star ---

"Nell, our forces are in place. The recon units in the forests near the coast have reported that there are a total of three submarines that have just come up to the surface. From first glance, they do not appear to be Black Hole in origin." Andy called in. Sami was out in the field with her infantry at the moment, gathering more intel. He'd seen this sort of a move before, back when he had been battling Sonja a few years ago, when Sturm had played them all for fools. It probably meant that they were dealing with someone who wanted to keep them thinking, maybe attack the submarines.

"Andy, don't pull forward with any of your forces. They're obviously trying to bait you into a battle." Nell replied, after a moment of consideration. It was the same information that he'd come up with, no less, which made the mechanical whiz kid grin. Ah, yes. Dealing with Sonja had not been fun in the slightest, especially since she'd had the advantage on all three of the Orange Star CO's that she had faced. Well, he had learned better than to tempt a fog of war situation by leaving his troops exposed. At this point, though, he knew that his units were well hidden and supplied by APCs. His other troops that could not get into the forests were all hidden far enough away from the beach to keep them out of sight, for now.

"Will do, Nell. We've also got three of Sami's new units patrolling the forests near the beach. If they try to land, we'll have a nasty surprise for them. Out!" he said, and put down the phone. Sami and Andy had been working for the past few months, ever since the end of the Black Hole's last invasion, on a new type of unit that would be able to be as useful as infantry. Max had even helped, knowing that since infantry fell under his jurisdiction as well, that this new unit would be beneficial to every Orange Star CO that was in active service.

"Sami's new units?" a voice asked, and Andy turned quickly as soon as he heard it, to face the person that had asked him the question. There hadn't been the normal 'Sir' after the question had been asked- it must either be someone very new to the army, or... Sonja?! Andy blinked in surprise, his face going a bit pale as he shook his head. Why would the queen of intelligence gathering be here... unless to try and learn, first-hand, about this new possible threat to their countries. "Hello, Andy. It has been a while." she said to him, and Andy nodded in agreement. She was certainly attractive, in his eyes, and he had a bit of difficulty keeping eye contact with her as a result of that.

"Yeah, it has been... come to watch the new people come to say hello, Sonja?" he asked, a small smile on his face. At least he wasn't nearly as hyper about this as he once probably would have been, he thought to himself. Little did he know that she was thinking the same thing as well. She nodded slightly and looked about the field HQ slowly before her gaze fell upon the maps and pattern of the troop deployment. Sonja chuckled a little, seeing little that she would change of the battle plan at all, if anything, considering the fact that she would deploy her troops in much the same manner.

"You could say that. My father and Sensei have decided that they would feel much better about this new fleet if they had some real information on them. Do you have any yet?" she asked him. Sonja was glad to be with her friend again, to tell the truth. How exactly she had been defeated by him on a few occasions was not very clear, but obviously his advisor had had something to do with it. But since then, she had respect for Orange Star's youngest CO. He had no obvious weakness or strength with his units, unlike most any other CO in the known world. But, she forced her mind back to the task at hand. She couldn't help- had only arrived via a T. Copter, which was now hidden away for the duration of this operation.

"None yet, Sonja." came Sami's voice as she returned to the HQ after her checking up on her new units. They seemed ready to go, and the equipment had worked flawlessly so far. This experiment in technology for infantry units was surprisingly simple and rather cost-effective for the increased firepower that they carried with them, so their army could deploy them rather easily. "But, they don't seem to be Black Hole. No obvious colorings or flags that declare their allegiance, either. Personally... I don't think it is the Black Hole at all." she told the Yellow Comet CO. Oh, these two didn't care for each other, not in the slightest. It was like watching two wolves that were about to fight for dominance over an entire pack of wolves, Andy thought. Damned nature channels. Why did he put up with watching them these days? Ah well.

"I see. Thank you, Sami." Sonja replied, smiling nicely enough. They knew when to put their differences aside, at least. Sami nodded, and grinned slightly. She knew that this little 'princess' of Yellow Comet had no information regarding their newest military unit that they had deployed, and from here, still had no idea about it either. It was a good thing Sami had returned- it looked like Andy might have been about to tell her about it. He was smitten with the girl, obviously... but it wasn't very obvious whether or not she returned his feelings. She was a mysterious girl, and she had gotten the part of being a spy down very well. How Sturm had caught her during the first war was still a mystery.

There was an unresolved rivalry between these two CO's. Sami was a superb reconnaisance operative, whereas Sonja is the one in charge of the largest intelligence network in the world. But obviously, the reach of her network didn't extend everywhere, or else she would know who was coming up so quickly upon their shores. Sami couldn't help but to grin as she figured out a few things. Sonja rarely did anything that her father did approve of- and he was so fond of his daughter that he would never let her go out to try and find out just who would be creeping up upon Orange Star without being coerced into doing so. 

---

Andy was checking up with the troops as the tension continued to build between the two, slowly but surely. "So, what is little miss princess doing on the front lines, hm? Didn't you learn not to stick your head above the crowd from your father, so you don't get hurt?" she asked, the look on Sami's face showing that she knew better, but that she was simply teasing the Yellow Comet CO. Sonja recoiled in shock- she'd never been talked to like that by anyone. Not her old friends while growing up (few though they were, of course), not by other CO's. Not even Sensei had taken that sort of tone with her, though both she and the old man had used that tone of voice with Kanbei to allow her to get her way from time to time. Sonja couldn't help but to feel a bit angry as a result of being played with, and Sami's sarcastic grin grew a bit more as Sonja's emotion became apparent on her face.

Sami was surprisingly pretty happy at this point. She'd cornered Sonja almost too easily! Truly, the girl with seemingly ice in her veins had warmed up and grown in her maturity, since when first they had met. Emotions had arisen in the CO, giving her a strength and ability that she hd lacked before. What had changed the intel queen to become more aware of not only her surroundings, but of people as well? Perhaps she now fully realized the ramifications of her decisions as a CO. That there was life and death in the pursuit of defending one's people, it was a constant. Unknown to Sami, Sonja had learned that truly as a result of the last war.

Dealing with Lash had thrown that in her face, to where the girl could no longer ignore the realities of war. Injured and wounded men were as much a part of war as those who lived and were healthy enough to fight. Having to create a shield for damaged units by using men was a part of war- but since finding, up close and personal, the fact that the wounded and dead might have become such from her own bad decisions, she had to find a center, within herself. She had been by herself for nearly a month to come to terms with reality, meditation a rather necessary part of her abilities now. Logical decisions could only be made when one is calm and at peace. Sonja learned this, and also that emotions can play a useful part in war... in moderation, at least.

"I am here because I wished to see these new units myself, Sami. I heard from Grit about the fleets coming your way, so I thought I should get a good look at it first hand." she replied. Sami blinked- now, she was the one who was being childish, wasn't she? Trying to goad Sonja into a fight when she should preparing for one on another front, no less. Sami sighed now, backing away from what she had said earlier and from Sonja's response. Life was give and take- if you give something, you must be prepared to take something in return.

---

Andy may have been dealing with a few reports and checking up on troop positions, but he wasn't as oblivious as the two women seemed to think he was. He had glanced over from time to time, to make sure that no fighting would break out between them. Strange, how Sami would get angry at Sonja for no reason... Oh, wait! He just remembered that they had had words during the first war, though he had not been able to hear them when they had spoken. Obviously, there was something unfinished between the two women, and if the wars had taught him anything, Andy knew now that it was only folly to get in the way of warring women.

Then, he recieved a communication from one of his recon units that he had kept stationed inland, in a forest to remain hidden from view of anything or anyone coming from behind. They had sighted a small group of vehicles heading in his direction, mostly recon units and a few tanks as well. The make of the vehicles were, however, made it easy to identify their origins. "Well now.. who would've thought that they'd be on their way, eh?" he said under his breath, a smile on Andy's face as he turned towards the two ladies that were no longer actually fighting one another. "Hey, guess what? Green Earth's on the way with some vehicles, and I don't mean planes or ships. That can only mean one person, right?" he told them, and both Sami and Sonja looked over to him.

In all of Green Earth, there was but one CO who specialized in ground combat with vehicles. Unlike Eagle and Drake, who each specialized in planes and ships respectively, there was a CO who had returned to her homeland during the second war. Black Hole had dug their troops into the entire country, nearly conquering all of it before she had managed to return. "Sounds like Jess." Sonja remarked. Sami just nodded in agreement. Strange, Andy thought. Three lady CO's in one place, each one from a different country. They had representatives of practically every country now in one place.

"Hmm... I wonder if someone from Blue Moon will be coming as well, to see these newcomers?" Andy asked aloud, to which Sonja shook her head. Sami just looked amused at that thought. Andy grinned slowly and shrugged. It was just a thought, after all. It would be nice to see Grit or Colin again... But 'Nell's Papa" was someone that Andy couldn't really stand most of the time.

"No, Grit, Colin, and Olaf are a bit busy reinforcing their own armies right now. They will not be able to send someone to join us today. I must admit, I did not expect Jess to be the one to join from Green Earth." Sonja told the two Orange Star CO's. Andy shrugged again at her words and Sami just smiled a little. It was unusual that she wouldn't have heard something about Jess's coming before now, to tell the truth, but it didn't unnerve a single CO in the room. Not one person can know everything that occurs at a single time, not even Sonja.

---

"Well now, Sheila... it looks like your plan to draw them out failed this time, eh?" came Arik's voice over the phone. He couldn't help but to sigh- the enemy obviously saw through their bluff, and even after a day or two of keeping their submarines at the surface, the enemy artillery and rockets failed to advance. It was obvious, from the terrain, that they were rather wise to possible attack strategies along these lines. "Guess we'll have to simply go in and attack, but I must say, I don't think that they're Black Hole troops. They would have attacked us by now. None here know our ship designs, after all, save possibly the Black Hole CO's. These Orange Star CO's are a cautious bunch, obviously."

"I agree. We aren't dealing with Black Hole, now are we? But if we're gonna go ahead and establish radio contact, we'd better do it when we have the ability to do so. They haven't attempted to contact us yet. Why should we attempt it first?" she asked the younger CO. He was only younger by a few years, but Arik certainly knew what he was doing at this point. He was the CO with the least experience, but his plans had often met with success. Their range of their transmissions couldn't be sure to reach Orange Star, at this rate. They would need to make landfall to gain access to equipment that would allow them to contact them... that, or a face-to-face conversation with whoever the CO's in charge might be.

"Because, we are the invaders, Sheila. If this army that we know is ahead of us is Orange Star, and not Black Hole, then it would only be neighborly to speak with them, you know." Arik replied. He knew he was right about that, but there was little they could do until landfall was made tomorrow. They had not been fired upon yet- but they left several of their units behind, under escort, as two landers made their way towards the shore. One from each fleet were escorted to the shore by a trio of hovercraft. Yes, these hover tanks would make landfall tomorrow with the transports. They were one of several units that Silver Mountain had managed to create since Black Hole had been thrown from their country.

The tankers that had kept their ships supplied with fuel were themselves beginning to run low on fuel as well. Exchanging fuel had kept them going for a while, but they would only last another week or so before requiring refueling from land. The other naval unit that they had created was kept just behind the tankers, surrounded by battleships and cruisers. The time would soon come where they too would become very useful in battle. But not yet. The ace cards would soon be dealt, and if needed, they would be the first wave of attack. Arik couldn't help but to smile softly- the fact that his own contribution to the battlefield might be felt soon would be nice to know, but at this point, he simply wanted a peaceful resolution to the battle that was looming before them.

"I will take the initiative, Sheila. Allow me." he told his fellow commander. She gave her assent, and then he was off the phone, heading towards his cruiser's hangar bay. He smiled, seeing the T. Copter that was loaded, beside a B. Copter. "Lieutenant! Prepare this bird for launch. We are going over to the mainland, now, to see if there is any Black Hole force to be found on these shores." he told the man, and he saluted the officer. The Lieutenant saluted in return, and immediately went to the cockpit. Arik followed him, and took his seat in a chair beside the pilot's. Then, they were aloft, and in the air.

In the other fleet, Sheila had left the helm to watch from the window of the bridge of her ship, one hand on the clear glass as the T. Copter, unescorted, took off from the cruiser and headed towards the mainland. "Good luck, Arik. May you find the peace that we are all searching for." she said in her mind, not speaking aloud for her crew to hear. If he was fired upon before landfall could be made, then she would simply take control of all their forces and attack as best she could. There was far too little information now, and she would not allow the death of a fellow CO if she could help it. Not even Net deserved it, after all. The death that came with one who was far from home was something she hoped not to force, unless battle was waged for good reason.

---

"Well now... that's strange. A Transport Copter? Alone?" Andy exclaimed. It had drawn dark out- the day was over. The copter that had just launched from a cruiser would make it to the mainland with plenty of time before the end of the night. Either this was a trick... or someone wanted to talk. "The copter isn't Black Hole in design. Just like the ships!" he said.

"Well then, obviously it is someone else. And from the intel that you have received, Andy, I think I know who it is." came the voice of Green Earth's envoy. Jess smiled a little and stretched- she had arrived only a while ago with her small force, a force ill-suited to taking on ships or even flying units. "They have hovering tanks, they are using tanker ships. And they are sending a single transport copter over ahead of everyone? You have no knowledge of them, indeed, only a few people would have any information on these people. This is Silver Mountain, Andy. They are not likely to want war- I know of their land from my travels. I didn't tell anyone about them, because I doubt very much that anyone here would have been interested in them."

"Why didn't you mention them before? They could be very dangerous!" Sonja exclaimed, coming up to this woman who was quite a bit older than she was. Sami watched from near Andy's position, sitting at the command table, so to speak. Andy turned to Sami and smiled a little bit as the other two ladies quarreled.

"Ah... the suspense is killing me, Sami. Think that they'll want to talk peace, or maybe just want to say hello and go ahead and start a battle?" he asked the infantry specialist. Sami chuckled softly as she shook her head- cute. He'd become a bit more mature, but Andy was still a bit naive about things. In this, however, it was quite likely that he was right, on both counts. Never before in recent history did someone decide to come onto the mainland without a force before and behind him or her. In fact, only with necessary military force did anyone ever invade, so...

"It's obvious. Someone wants to talk with us, Andy. No one can win a war by using simply a transport copter, not even me. No one would come over without weapons unless they were either absolutely sure of themselves, or if they wanted to parlay first." she replied. Sonja and Jess stopped bickering and listened to what Sami had to say. Despite all their differences, both Jess and Sonja knew that Sami was most likely right. Only a fool, or someone who was absolutely sure of himself, or wanting to talk, could possibly take the path that whoever was inside the copter had taken. "And I suggest we meet this person, to see their intent. Attacking now could lead us all into war... and I don't want to know yet what that might lead to again.

Elsewhere, in a hidden base ---

"Heh.. hehehe... look at this! Why, if it is not our old Silver Mountain?" a voice said aloud into the small room that the owner of the voice reclined in. "My, how they've grown. Delicious." that same voice commented. Where exactly he was hidden was unknown to any but those of his side, but inside one of the last remaining Black Hole bases, certain CO watched the monitor. "And to think, they were once our slaves. How... interesting." he commented, and then a slightly evil laughter came from the rather thin man. He had been watching over Silver Mountain's progress ever since Sturm had ordered a 'strategic retreat' in the name of the second Black Hole war against the rest of Wars World.

Oh yes... Black Hole had been 'defeated' by Silver Mountain's 'powerful' troops. Or at least, that was what Adder had meant for them to think. All of the Black Hole CO's had been trained against Silver Mountain's pitiful militia by Sturm. Their powers had grown and expanded from that intensive training against the rebelious country of Silver Mountain. But once Flak, Lash, and Hawke had finished their training there, Sturm pulled them out. Adder alone had remained as he allowed the rebelling citizens of that forsaken and weak country to regain their land, one city at a time, until even he had been ordered to evacuate.

In their place, only the weaker CO's remained. CO's that had been taught by Sturm how to fight. Sub-commanders that could hardly keep their helmets on. One by one, they fell to the powerful strikes brought on by the growing Silver Mountain armies. A man named Lance had been reported to be at the head of the movement. Adder knew better than to face a CO like him, one-on-one, in such a state. The man had been young then, and angry. "Delicious..." he said to himself once more, enjoying his immunity to attacks of any sort. His surveillance of Silver Mountain kept him busy these days, as well as their double agents that he had deployed in the different factions of the world outside of his old stomping grounds of Silver Mountain.

Wiry and slick, that was this particular CO's trademark. He commanded no combat ready troops here in this base- no, he was but second in command here. There was only one man higher in rank than he was. The base was small, but fortified. It was here that their fleet resupplied itself, in the northwestern wastes of this forsaken world of war. And it was here that he kept watch over all- Black Hole troop movements. Green Earth maneuvers, Olaf's eating habits, Orange Star's fooling around, and Kanbei's lost sock pastimes. Few things escaped the snake-like man's notice. He was as well informed as Sonja, if not more so... or so he told himself.

"This should be very interesting to Hawke." he murmered. He spoke to himself quite often these days, to keep himself from becoming bored completely. But no, he thought to himself. It would be much more entertaining to see what they could do while staying safe. Perhaps... Yes! Adder got onto the phone with his subordinates, and placed a few rather useful orders- a cup of coffee, a pastry from the galley, and oh yes, for the crew of a missile unit, loyal to Black Hole but working for Orange Star that had been pulled up from the active reserve, to shoot down the transport copter before it could finally land on Orange Star's coast. "Let us begin the show!"

Back in Orange Star airspace ---

Five powerful, ground-to-air missiles impacted the strong transport copter. It gave a great struggle against its impending demise, armor buckling, rotors bending and crushing against the firepower that had been unleashed at it. Small explosions rocked the copter as its altitude began to drop quickly, the nose of the flying machine pointing towards the ground as gravity exerted its will over the now nearly broken machine. There was nothing left to do as one of the engines went up in a large ball of flame, the heat causing the fuel in the transport's tank to expand and then explode. The engine was left largely intact, save for several ruptures and dents, as it hit the ground, but now the copter was falling completely uncontrollably. "Hang on!" were Arik's last words, before the transport plunged into the ground.

There was no fireball or giant explosion. But then, there was no sound of anyone living to escape the wreckage that had once been a proud transport copter made back in Silver Mountain. All was silent, save for the sound of the rotors as they died down, slowly coming to a standstill.

In Orange Star, only Andy was still awake. Jess, Sami, and Sonja were asleep in their seperate tents, and the mechanical genius was working on a recon vehicle. None had seen or noticed in the slightest that the missile launching unit had even fired upon the ones that were coming towards them in the unarmed strike craft.

In his hidden bunker, Adder laughed to himself. Ah yes... wanton destruction of the peace that had been plaguing Wars World for months now. Hawke would be pleased, but more importantly, Adder would have something to watch now. Over 130 stolen channels on television, but not a thing to watch? Not anymore, he thought, as he sipped his green tea. He was a man of simple pleasures and needs, but watching over a refueling station was tedious work. This would improve his situation quite well.

Back in the fleet off the coast of Orange Star, Sheila saw the end of the transport copter that Arik had been on. Her body shook in rage for a moment, and then she was calm again. "Prepare the troops of both fleets for battle. We will defeat the ones who attacked us first. All troops are to search for Arik if given the opportunity to do so. A CO from Silver Mountain does not die that easily. But no matter what, we shall leave our mark on this land!" she called forth, and a resounding "Aye-aye!" could be heard as the crew took the orders to heart. Throughout the fleet, landing preparations were being made. Battle systems were being tested, and all men took to their positions. Tomorrow, at dawn, the attack would begin. And the fury of a country long denied revenge would take out its aggression upon an unwitting nation.

---

Author's Note: Well, not a bad way to continue. It's a bit slow, I admit, this time around. I wanted to get more characterizations down this time, so I put some thought into them.

Tron: Yeah, right. You just didn't want to do a battle yet!

MacrossGreen: Shut up, Tron! You know, you're not even being paid to be a muse. Why are you bugging me now?

Tron: Oh, just because I've got Andy all tied up at the moment. I think I'll let him be handled by the kobuns. Besides, I'm Mega Man's remember?

MacrossGreen: Sees Andy all tied together with duct tape and rope Damn. Just great. That means I've gotta come up with some other way to deal with ya.

Tron: You're still not working on Battle for Terra!

MacrossGreen: I didn't take the name 'Macross' for no reason, Tron! gets into his VF-1S and arms the main gun Don't make me do it...

Tron: sulks I'll be good...

MacrossGreen: Don't mess with a macross saga fanatic, Tron. Didn't you learn that by now? hehe... Please review! 


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: To reply to those who reviewed the previous chapter....

Keeper of the Scarf: Yeah, I spaced out your screen name. Deal. hehe. Anyway, I went through the 'obvious' parts and made sure that the reader would know about all the details as well, mostly because that's what Andy's there for. AW1, for example, who was the first CO you got to control and have everything explained to? That's right. If you noticed, he was also the one who asked the questions, and like in the original, Sami was the one to answer them. 'Course, Nell answered most of the time, but every once in a while (like in AW2) it fell to Sami to answer the hyperactive kid. Besides, in no fanfic or game have I seen that Andy deals with someone willing to put their neck out on a line to try and make peace rather than start a war. How's he supposed to know what to look for? BTW... Sheila going ballistic? Good idea!

Foulds: Thanks again for another review. I understand what you mean about the Andy/Sonja pairing being done to death... Don't worry too much though. I plan on a fairly unique pairing in this fic, if I can possibly fit it in. I kind of doubt it, to tell the truth, but if I can get fully into the story, well... Anything's possible. As for changing perspectives, it's kinda become a trademark of mine over the course of all the fanfiction that I've written. I've actually toned down quite a bit, to tell the truth. I'm still working on it, but it ain't easy. And just another, relatively minor detail... I did, in the first chapter, have Arik use something called 'Defensive Might.' That was a CO Power, though certainly not one of the grandiose ones that we see in the AW games.

Genocide: Thanks for the offer of dealing with Tron in exchange for your muse... but no thanks, I'm not that pissed at her. -glances to the side where Tron is busy torturing Servbot # 11 in their own damn game- Besides, we do get along now that I've begun work on that particular fic, which I will NOT give an unfair commercial viewing. I hardly had anything dealing with Jess in the last chapter, so I think I'll add a bit more with her into this one. I only bring out the muses on special occassions... or to force myself to work on a certain fic that I've neglected for over two years. ehehe... .

Anyway, thanks to everyone! I hope this chapter turns out to be as well liked as the others.

---

The day started with a bang. And another, and another. Then there were some explosions. The battle had begun. Shells from a battleship's cannons wrought devastation upon the coast. Oh, sure, they couldn't see much of any actual military units, but it wasn't difficult to imagine that the units that would be around would be hidden inside of forests. Mobile artillery, missile launching units, and rocket units alike were bombarded, and though they didn't take near as much damage as they would if the had been fired upon directly, several units were demolished. The landers landed, and several tank and medium tank units rolled out. Hover tanks were sent out to work through the non-rough terrained areas of land. More landers were sent forth, and then the cruisers moved to keep cover for the tankers and carriers.

Then the aircraft were launched. Battle Copters set forth from the Cruisers, and Bombers set forth from the few carrier units that only Sheila could have created. Three units each burst from the carriers until nine bombers were sent forward, forming three seperate 'V'- formations. But then the counter attack commenced. The remaining units of artillery sounded- the last remaining missile launching unit was out of range to sound off towards the bombers that slowly made their advance forward. The Rocket launching units were all gone. Shells slammed into fully unprotected tanks and medium tanks. The lighter units were demolished by the fire and about half the medium tanks were wiped out by the first volley. A legion of tanks came out of the woodworks, almost literally, and proceeded to decimate the remaining few tanks.

Sheila's hover tanks, however, found their way deeper into Orange Star territory. Their maneuverability was considerably higher than a normal tank, though they could not really use the cover provided by forests very easily. Anti-aircraft units came out from the forests as well, attempting to box in the hover tanks as they weaved closer to the field HQ.

"Take the battleships closer to the shoreline! Ready the missiles for launch, and fire!" Sheila cried, and her order was quickly carried out. On her submarines, hatches opened and then there was a plume of flame and smoke that rose from them. From each submarine, a single missile launched. The commander of the fleet couldn't help but to smile as she watched the plumes rise. Oh yes... now, the fun truly begins! "Missiles target the area around their field headquarters, but not directly on it. Provide cover for the hover tanks, and have them fan out to find the missile units. Bomber squadrons, begin your attack run. Target the remaining artillery and tanks. Battle copters, go after the tanks now as well."

In her mind, she had no doubts that they would be able to defeat any of the units that Orange Star could send their way. Tanks and indirect units were all that were known to have been used so far, and there were sightings of anti-aircraft units as well. No medium tanks or neotanks had been seen yet either, so it was rather tlikely that either the enemy didn't have any available or they were simply hiding further inland.

---

"Our rocket units have been taken out! Down to 20 of original artillery units. We've taken out several tanks and caused plenty of damage to their medium tanks, but now there are battle copters and bombers on the way. Our tanks are already damaged, and... What the hell?" Sonja said, a loud piercing whistle falling from the sky as a trio of powerful missiles landed all about the headquarters. Equipment, recon units, and personnel all flew as the ground was rocked all around them. Powerful blasts of fire landed all around the headquarters, causing the CO's within to lose their footing.

"Andy!" one of the girls cried, and then fell. At hearing his name, the boy sprang towards her, even as a heavy monitor fell from where it had been set up. The monitor was heading straight for the girl who had cried his name, and he grunted as he found himself ramming the heavy machine. It fell to the ground beside her, but he was very nearly knocked out from the attempt to keep the girl he had protected from being struck by it. The boy was vaguely aware of his surroundings as he felt someone either claw at his uniform or pull at his arm- both, perhaps?

"Wake up! Andy, come on!" the same voice said to him, and then he did, of course, the only intelligent thing that he could at that point. He passed out. "Oh great..." came another voice, and then he didn't hear anything else at all. Sami stood up from beside the fallen young boy and looked around. Jess was knocked against the wall of the tent, and was issuing orders into her own commincator with her troops. Sonja was close to Andy, not quite sure about what had happened. However, when she saw Andy sprawled out on the ground, she moved beside him and checked him over for wounds- he had no visible wounds, but one could tell he had taken quite a hit from that blunt monitor that had very nearly taken out Sami.

"Alright... Tanks, advance on theirs! Anti-Aircraft units prepare for bombardment, get under cover! Recons, go after those strange flying tanks that are moving in on us. Mortar Infantry, fire on the tanks that are on the shore!" she called out- the few remaining officers still standing immediately relayed the specific orders to various units that were left to her. They hadn't expected such a heavy attack by the ships, and now there was a large number of bombers and battle copters ready to take on her remaining ground troops. There were only two bases near enough to be of any use at all, and quickly she had the officer in charge of supplies have those bases begin training new mortar infantry. Now that Andy was out of it, they couldn't rely on his special abilities to actually effect repairs on damaged units. Her own abilities extended to infantry, after all.

Sami had to spare a moment to admire the fact that the person in charge of the fleet that was off their beaches knew just what he or she was doing. Of course, there was no way to know what had happened to that transport copter that had been on its way towards their field HQ last night. No one knew what had happened to it. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach- as if there had been someone onboard that copter that could have prevented this battle from occurring. But she had to shrug that aside for now. Her forces were losing, and she'd lost one of her best friends for the time being.

---

From concealed locations, her infantry launched their lethal barrage. Not of rocket fire or machine gun rounds, of course, but of Orange Star's newest weapon. Not even Max's clumsiness could ruin the range of these weapons, actually, as large plumes of fire escaped from the tubes that had been set up upon the ground. They weren't even immediately in front of anything. In fact, they fired from mortar cannons that had been aligned just right upon the ground itself, and the 'shells' launched skyward in an arc that led them into the air... and then crashing down from the heavens and into the tanks that still remained upon the beach.

It was from between firings of indirect attacks that a squad of recon units leapt from the HQ. At the controls of the lead vehicle was the CO from Green Earth. She alone had known anything about Silver Mountain, here in the closest continents of Wars World. The others had either been shattered or were so far isolated that informing anyone of them would do no good to anyone. She was the only CO to have traveled the world, at the expense of Eagle's respect for the red haired woman. The slender CO was driving quickly towards the last known location of the Transport Copter that had been on its way last night. There was no knowing what had happened, at this point...

But Jess had a hunch. She had been to Silver Mountain, for only a short while, before returning to Green Earth for the second war. She had seen what had happened, and from the information that she had uncovered, learned of the return of Black Hole just before they had invaded Green Earth, Yellow Comet, Blue Moon and Orange Star. Unfortunately, it took her a bit longer than she had expected to return to her homeland, and by then Hawke had taken over. The rest, as they say, is history. She gritted her teeth as she drove, barking orders to her units to cover more ground and find that transport, whether it was intact or in wreckage, she didn't care!

A loud whistling sound came from above, and she knew instinctively what that meant. "Move out!" she called out, and the recons dispersed quickly, the shell that had been fired from a battleship creating an explosion of dirt and rock behind them as a crater formed in the place where they had been but a few seconds ago. "If I know Silver Mountain... they aren't here to start a war with us." she told herself. Indeed, she had visited their shores for a brief while, hiding in small villages along the coastline from Black Hole forces. But then the Black Hole was being defeated, one battle at a time, by the rising millitants of the once peaceful nation. In all of Wars World, Silver Mountain had never risen in war against any enemy until now.

It had been horrendous, what the Black Hole CO's had done to the land. Sturm had set his strongest CO's out to 'train' in the relatively peaceful confines of this continent. One could only imagine the world that they carved out of this land with their brute force and military might. Indeed, each CO from Black Hole enjoyed their time here, or so it seemed. Jess had had to hide from the Black Hole troops as they kept the people in their place. Five out of seven days a week they seemed to stage some sort of 'show' to amuse themselves, and the horrors that had been done on these 'stages' would likely remain as memorials for all time.

Of Sturm, she had seen no sign- he had been busy elsewhere in Wars World, from what she had learned from Drake. He'd been using the four continents as pawns, utilizing the forces of other countries to wage wars against one another until they were so demolished that he could take them over without lifting a finger. That was what he had been doing while letting his CO's test their strengths and weaknesses against the people of the least militarized nation of Wars World. Why he had chosen to invade a land that had, at one time, few to no weapons, was beyond her ability to discover.

Jess smiled, remembering that history lesson that Drake had provided her while Eagle was out with his flyboys. Not even Eagle had managed to be the one to defeat Sturm in the end. But Sturm was defeated- that was the important thing, more important than anything else... for it caused the overlord of Black Hole to call his CO's to him. They left the country, and that was when Silver Mountain managed to claim it's own land once more. She hadn't been there for about a year and a half now... it had been a beautiful country once, perhaps it was again, but the people there had been forever changed.

It had been peaceful, one time, she thought to herself. Her gaze fixed on the country ahead of her as she plunged into a forest... and then the entire vehicle was stopped immediately, coming to a halt as the vehicle commander managed to avoid a near hit on something that she hadn't seen until she had attempted to enter the forest. "We've found it. All men, spread out." she said evenly. The transport was a complete wreck. "Search the area and the wreckage. If anyone survived... I don't think they could have gotten far." she called to her troops, and she got out from the recon vehicle. At least there wasn't any shelling being done in her area, she thought to herself, as she surveyed the wreckage. The remains of the copter were amazingly intact...

"Some sort of better armor than we have." she muttered to herself, before going to where a pair of her men were carefully digging the transport's sliding door of the copter out from the wreckage- it was completely off of its hinges, and according to another man up at the front, there were a pair of people up there. She blinked, her heart racing somewhat for a strange reason as she walked around to the shattered front 'windshield' of the aircraft to look inside. Usually, she was only this way when in battle or when arguing with a certain brash pilot who never seemed to give her credit for anything other than being around right when she was needed most to try and get all the glory.

Inside was a man wearing a uniform that she recognized from her time in Silver Mountain. Gray, with a white lining on it. The man that was obviously dead in the pilot seat wore the same uniform, but it was rather unlikely that the stain of blood could ever come off of it. "Check the other man. If he's still alive, somehow, we're taking him with us. I don't care if it's probably a bad idea to move him. And get me the APC on the phone, now! I want contact with the CO in charge of that fleet, and I want it an hour ago!"

---

Finally, with her ground forces in dire straights, the CO in charge of the fleet set her bombers into action and the tide of the battle swung heavily into her favor once more. Sheila ordered her forces into an attack pattern that she had rarely had the need to use before. "Blitzkrieg!" she called into the transmissions sent to her troops, and before a single shot could be sounded from the anti-aircraft guns, they were permanently silenced from the roar that often escaped them. Bombs flew from the open hatches on the underside of the bombers that had been sent in, and death rained down on Sami's parade of tanks and infantry, cutting gaping swaths of damage among anti-airs, tanks, infantry, even her mortar infantry were demolished by the bombardment. 

Such was Sheila's strength in aerial combat- bombers and aircraft that could take on practically anything. Her battle copters swept through the shattered defense line and proceeded to decimate what few remaining targets there were- even the anti-aircraft units couldn't do enough damage to stop her copters' advance. The few copters unneeded for the attack swept in after the recon units that had attempted to surround her hover tanks, and those too were annihilated quickly.

From the bridge of her carrier, Sheila smiled slowly. With her powerful bombers and copters in the air, the CO (whoever it was) that opposed her on the land obviously had no suitable action. There were no missile units left to defend against her bombers and battle copters. "Send in the infantry." she said simply. With that, each cruiser emptied out a single transport copter, and two landers that had remained behind were set forth. Her hover tanks, untouched thanks to their maneuverability and the fact that their cannons did massive counter-damage to the recon units that had been sent after them, unloaded a squad of infantry as well- all three units relatively close to the field HQ that Orange Star had set up before this had all begun.

In Sheila's mind, this was only the beginning of the war. Arik was likely dead, despite her bravado last night that she had displayed to her crew. It was all too plain to see- she had seen the flock of missiles as if they had actually been a pack of lethal lions that had waited until the right time to pounce on a zebra. They flew from someplace on the mainland, and had struck the transport copter. There had been no time to warn them of the attack, no time to get them to escape the flightpath. And then the copter was off of their radar. She could see what must have happened in her mind's eye, and she began to count to ten as she felt her anger mounting. "1... 2..." she muttered, the rage still growing within her. Her body became warmer. "3... 4..." she continued, and then she sighed, relaxing once more.

Her first officer was now standing behind her as she stood at the window, staring out at the devastated land that was before them. He had news to give her... but, what was he to say to his commanding officer, now that she was so angry? She saw her shoulders slump down after a few seconds and he brightened before finally saluting his CO. "Ma'am, we have an incoming radio transmission from the mainland. A woman named Jess would like to speak with you." he tells her, and Sheila turned immediately to face the man that had the gall to actually talk to her before she was no longer angry.

"Someone wants to talk to me, eh? Well, this lady better be important, or I'm just gonna have to get into a battle copter myself and do a flyby over her head!" she said slowly, with about as much anger as she could muster. The officer's face went pale as she walked past him and over to the radio. She nodded to the communications officer, who immediately patched the transmission through to the console. Sheila listened to what whoever this was had to say, trying to calm herself by being patient... not something, she realized, that happened all that often.

"Attention commanding officer of the Silver Mountain fleet!" came the woman's voice. Sheila blinked in surprise as she heard the name of their country from a foreigner. Only Black Hole could possibly know it was them! Therefore... "My name is Jess, and I am from Green Earth. Cease your attack on Orange Star's forces at once! I have located the remains of the transport copter that you sent here yesterday, and there is a man here that is unconscious. The pilot of the craft is dead. Unless you want to lose him for good, I repeat, stop attacking! He needs medical attention ASAP!" the voice said.

The Silver Mountain CO had to consider her priorities first, now. Her troops were already involved in a costly attack on the mainland forces. They had the upper hand at the moment, no less. And this could just as easily be some sort of Black Hole trick, possibly even a trap. With a sigh, Sheila shook her head. But... what if her fellow CO still survived? It was something that she had to consider, even if it was a remote possibility that whoever this person was could actually be telling her the truth. "Dammit!" she yelled, fists raised for a second before slamming down onto the console.

Now, she felt like she had swung with such force that she could have left dents in the metalic console, but no. All that had been left was the sharp stabs of pain in her fists as she winced and tried to make sense of things. First- that hurt! Second... she couldn't take a chance with the life of her fellow CO in the balance. "Get a line to this Jess. Tell her that I'll be over soon to negotiate with her. I'll meet her on the coast. Have our bombers and copters return to the ships. All remaining ground forces, pull out to the coast." she said flatly, and quickly she strolled to the carrier's single remaining bay. She had not dedicated all of her forces to the blitzkrieg attack... just the vast majority. Never lose all of your offensive capability, despite overwhelming odds. An ounce of caution, Lance had told her once.

---

Sami was still in the field HQ when the sound of massive explosions took place not too far away. They were not defeaning, from this distance, but if they had taken place any closer than this, perhaps they might have been. Reports had diminished to only those that she could receive from units back at the bases or just outside the HQ. A massive bombing run had taken out all the available units that had been in place to stop the enemy's bombers. Recons, tanks, anti-aircraft units, infantry... even her mortar infantry units were gone, save the ones that had remained near the base.

"What in the hell..." she whispered under her breath. How could they have lost their main force so quickly? Some sort of trick, or was the enemy CO actually that good? Then, with a quick glance about the HQ, she noticed something was missing. No, strike that. Someone was missing! "Jess is gone? Where did she go?" she asked Sonja, who had been making sure that Andy was made as comfortable as he could be while on the ground. The yellow comet CO stood and looked to Sami before speaking up- her friend was on the ground, still out like a light, though he wasn't badly hurt.

"She went to locate the transport that we should have had here by now. Remember, the one that launched from that fleet last night?" she explained, and Sami nodded slightly. She hadn't been able to spare a thought as to doing that, during the battle that had just taken place. And she had lost, obviously. Infantry couldn't do anything to bombers, and if the bombers could do that kind of damage to anti-airs... well, that left missile units. "Wait a sec..." she said, and pulled out the walkie-talkie that Jess had given her in case they needed to contact one another. "Yes? Uh-huh. You did? Excellent. We shall be there."

Sami looked at the CO incredulously and frowned. "We shall be... where? We lost. There's nothing more we can do, at this rate, other than tell Nell the bad news." she told the queen of intel, who just shrugged slightly before looking to Andy. 

"Call Nell and tell her to get your medical teams out here. It seems that we have two patients who require help at this time." she said to the Orange Star CO. When Sami looked at her blankly, Sonja sighed as she realized that the infantry specialist obviously wasn't following too well. "Jess found a survivor from that transport copter. She's contacted the CO from the Silver Mountain Fleet, and has arranged a meeting with them on the shores. Jess wants us all there for this. It is rather important. We have an hour to arrive in time."

With a nod from Sami, the two CO's put their differences aside as Sami gave a call to Nell to tell her about the outcome of the battle. With Andy out of it, and her relative incapability with anything other than infantry, she blamed herself for the outcome of this. If only she hadn't cried out to Andy when she saw the monitor falling from where it had been after that missile strike, none of this would have happened, and he wouldn't be hurt. But no, it seemed that it was all her fault. She had gotten Andy hurt, and now Orange Star had lost a battle for the first time since the beginning of the first Black Hole War. Dejectedly, she sat in the back of the jeep that was now being used to take them towards the beach. Never before did being home hurt so badly.

Elsewhere in Wars World ---

"Well now, splendid... Simply marvelous." that sinister voice announced. Once again, he had remained in his place, not having wanted to miss any of the action that had been launched by Silver Mountain. That had been begun by himself, truthfully, but would anyone ever know about his action? For, after all, all evidence pointed to Orange Star and certainly not to himself. The missile unit had been destroyed with the first barrage of shells from the battleships, after all, and all personnel with it. Ah, what some of these pawns would do for the promise of money...

"Delicious." he commented, as he watched the action die down. But then, the fighting stopped completely, and Silver Mountain's forces began to retreat. "What is the meaning of this? My pawns... do not think you can deny my will. You will fight each other!" he exclaimed, to no one in particular, as he stood. He wore a dark robe, with some certain designs upon it that he had had made in Silver Mountain over two years ago, when he had been nearly a god in that country. None had known of him, but all had known of the grasp of Black Hole as a result of his manipulations. He had been third in command before- and now, he was second in command. Not even his own comrades were able to escape the ministrations of his dark mind... Not even the one that had put him in such a seat of power.

"All in due time..." he said, and the wiry man known as Adder calmed himself, a slow, seemingly evil smile etching onto his face slowly while he sat back down in his chair. Oh yes, he told himself. These CO's shall taste a delicious treat, soon enough. Better than feeding them missiles in the night!

---

Author's Note: Yeah, a smaller chapter than the last one, but I think it did the trick this time as well. I'm trying to slowly continue the storyline here- does it show much? Hopefully, I'm not giving up too much background too quickly...

A note on the CO Powers in this fic- I'm just not going to use 'em much. The main thing about them is that many of them are completely unrealistic (Blizzard and Tsunami? Gimme a break!). Some would be fine... as long as the CO in charge was with the front line (Andy with his Hyper Repair and Upgrade, for instance, could repair the unit he's with and adjacent ones as well). That's my take on it. I don't see the characters able to use them all that much, either. I don't think we'll be seeing the direct damage-dealing offensive CO powers in this, with a possible exception of Black Wave. 


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Well now, it seems my little series has gained a bit of a following. I've seen this story on several reviewer's favorites list, so I guess I'm doing something right! Not bad for a first timer in this game series, I suppose... Although, after this, I don't think I'll write a sequel. 

It's nice to get such extensive reviews! You guys are really helping me out. I usually get only 'good jobs!' and 'please write more!' type reviews. It's nice to have such responsive readers of this series. Hopefully, I can continue making this series stand out... I don't know how I have, but I'm glad I've managed to do so. Also, about the battle scenes. I personally don't see units able to attack only once per day, like what the games show. I've actually gone ahead and made it so that the battles take far less time- several hours, really, is all that's needed to make a battle scene in 'game-time' take place.

And now, to those who reviewed the previous chapter-

Taekmkm: Did I get the spelling right for your name? Anyway... you may have a point about my not revealing much of anything early on. In fact, I've simply been setting the stage with the story and such. With this chapter, I will be giving a much closer look into Silver Mountain's past and their previous dealing with Black Hole. One thing I'm not about to provide hints to, however, is Net and Sheila's rivalry- we all know it's there, from the first chapter. Who knows? It might be about the same lines that there is a rivalry between Max and Grit! Which is not likely, by the way, but you won't know the details until much later! When I know that the readers are interested in the story by the number of reviews I receive, I should be ready to pull out the main stops of the storyline. We're about at that point, actually. Don't worry, I'll reveal more soon enough.

Kronik-Spoon, Student: No need to worry about slacking with the reviews- you're not obligated to review my fics, though I do appreciate the reviews you have provided already. And no, I'm not stingy. Take your time to review, if you feel like reviewing this fic or any others of mine.

Keeper of the Scarf: Thanks for another review.

Genocide: Thanks for another review as well.

Maybe I should actually write these responses after the story itself? Ah well. Now, on with the fic!

---

On the beach was an assortment of military machines and troops, the likes of which had never before been seen on Orange Star soil before. Indeed, hover tanks, copters, and APCs of different types littered the sandy area, of designs that were somewhat familiar to the CO's that were drawing close. None of the machines on the beach moved, though many people could be seen wandering about the vehicles, effecting repairs while they still could in case this meeting went ugly. The troops wore still the gray uniforms that they had been issued, as part of the Silver Mountain army, and the ships that had been part of their fleet had move in much closer to land, as close as they dared to come to the shore without running aground.

It was in the center of this that Sheila found herself, surrounded on all sides by her troops. She had effectively finished off the Orange Star troops in this area, thanks to her Blitzkrieg attack. Indeed, the sudden devasation wrought by her bombers and copters had demolished almost all of their tanks, anti-airs, and infantry units that had been dispatched to deal with the invaders. The entire battle that had been waged lasted less than a day, to tell the truth, and now here she was, waiting for the CO's that she had fought against. The one named Jess that had contacted her... seemed amiable enough. The opponent was obviously not Black Hole. They would never simply come in for negotiation, and rather attack when they least expected it. That was why Sheila had sent her copters to provide air cover, in case of some sort of Black Hole attack.

She wouldn't put it past Black Hole to try and disrupt any meeting that she might be planning to have with this Jess, after all. For all that the Silver Mountain CO knew, Orange Star might simply be a front, or worse, an ally with their enemy nation. She gazed at her watch and sighed, shaking her head. Dammit... only a few more minutes and the hour deadline would be up. Sheila was uncomfortable on land. She much preferred the skies or the sea to being land-bound. There wasn't a sense of freedom here- land eventually ended. The oceans continued on, moving around continents and islands, and the skies? The skies never ended, and there was no place one could not go, up above cities and mountains. Continents, and land itself, made her nearly claustrophobic.

"Arik, you better be alright." she muttered to herself, so low in volume that her aide who was standing behind her couldn't even hear the comment. And it was just as well- she enjoyed teasing the young man that had volunteered to make his way onto land to meet with whoever he could to see about peace. The average officer in their army would have said it was suicide, she had heard rumors to that extent the evening that it had happened when she had gone to the mess hall on the carrier. The pilots were angry as well, much to her surprise- she had no idea what her own men had thought of the newest CO.

What she had learned was rather astounding. Arik was a man that they respected, it seemed, one that didn't wage war but waged a war against war. He did not care to attack, but to protect his men as best that he could. It didn't matter what type of troop he commanded, or the damage that the unit had taken. He would protect them as well as humanly possible, and he would even join his troops out into battle. He had been a man that had taken the brunt of attacks at the front before, and each time he would cause his men to counter attack with a ferocity that belied his relative inexperience as CO in general.

Sheila glanced at her watch and closed her eyes shortly afterwards. Dammit. Time was up. She stood up from where she had been sitting on the sand- sand, at least, felt nice every so often. Landers lined up along the beach, containing no troops- they had been emptied during the assault, and many of the troops that had disembarked would not be returning. "Prepare to evacuate the beach. This Jess is taking her time. We shall wait a few more minutes to give them what time they require to make it here, but I want off of this soil within 10 minutes, got it?" she told her aide, who nodded and turned, giving out the order that she had just given him.

She worried about her comrade- indeed, though she was quite well respected among the Silver Mountain Army, she was still just a CO that would do what was needed to win. Nearly all CO's required that duty, in order to do what they did. To order their troops into battle, unsure of victory against a foe, be they known or unknown, required nerves that the average person did not possess. She possessed such nerve; all CO's did. Save for the most naive ones, she thought to herself, remembering once more about Lash.

---

"We're running late! Driver, get us to the beach right now!" Sami's voice called out from the back of the recon vehicle, where she stood behind the machine gun it carried, that they had commandeered. She had been in this vehicle for nearly an hour- did the driver even know where the beach was? Dammit all, Andy needed help but this meeting with the enemy CO had been in the making for a short while now, and was very important. Nell had said that this sort of meeting was unprecedented in the history of Orange Star, especially when the lone transport copter had attempted to make landfall.

Sami looked down into the back seat of the vehicle, where Sonja was sitting. Andy sat beside her, no longer unconsious but in a bit of pain. And with a sling on his right arm, no less, the mechanical wonder would not be effecting his repair abilities on anything anytime soon. She sighed softly- why had she called out to him? It was all her fault now, why Andy had been hurt like that. 

She'd cried out to him, after noticing the large monitor had been about to fall. The strange thing was, it wasn't about to fall on her- from where she'd been standing, it was Sonja who'd about to be crushed by it. Why had she cried out to him? Sonja wasn't an enemy, not anymore, but she wasn't really a friend. A rival, perhaps, a competitor, absolutely. She would have gained a lot, should Sonja have been knocked out for a while. But...

Then it was clear to the specialist. She didn't hate the woman. Like it or not, Sonja was a vital CO in the world today, and she had become even more crucial as a result of the second Black Hole war. She no longer saw her troops as people to use as shields, to hide behind while attacking her enemy. She was a wonder on the battlefield now, hidden troops unable to remain that way while she was around. Sami found herself as a simple second-best on the field as a result- her own intelligence group a modest second-rate compared to Sonja's.

They really weren't all that different, to tell the truth. Both loved their countries and both wanted to protect their friends and family, after all. Sami sighed softly, and that caused both Sonja and Andy to look up to her as the young CO looked to the gun she had in her hands. "What's the matter, Sami?" Andy asked, obviously in a little pain. He looked up to her- damn, how naive was her friend, really? Sami shrugged and then smiled to the CO that she had helped out one several ocassions, and had been helped by on a few as well.

"Nothing, Andy... I'm sorry about your getting injured like you did, though." she said, and watched as Andy just smiled a little. Sonja shook her head, looking back towards where they were reaching the beach now. What was going on in Sonja's mind, she wondered, as she looked back to Andy and saw the smile he gave her.

"Come on, Sami. Nothing to be sorry for. I'm just glad you got my attention so I could help Sonja when I did, ya know." he told her, and then they all bucked up as they crossed onto the sand. The landers of the new army were still in place, and they were joined by another recon vehicle after a moment longer. All three CO's looked over, and saw Jess standing in the same place on that vehicle that Sami was standing at on theirs. "Besides... I'd do the same for you, too. You know that." he finished, watching Jess as she waved over to them. In the back seat, there was a gray uniformed young man that was laying on what looked to be a stretcher.

"Well, so that is the face of the man who tried to meet with us yesterday..." Sonja said aloud. Did she realize she said that thought out loud, Sami wondered, as she looked at the uniformed man. There were several bandages along his legs, as well as his arms and sides- she could spot some red stains on there even from where she stood, and she winced. It was rare that there was a survivior from a transport copter crash. This man was extraordinarily lucky, she considered, as she looked ahead. Sonja and Andy were watching the man as Jess' vehicle came up close enough to where she could be heard.

"Sami! We're late! We gotta be there soon, before it's too late to meet them!" came the older woman's voice, over the sound of loud engines as they sped down the beach towards the army that had landed to meet them. Sami nodded to the older red-head and sighed softly, wondering just what they were doing coming out here to meet someone from a country only Jess had ever been to or heard about before. Ah well, she thought to herself. Perhaps this CO would be able to keep them from attacking one another again. I sure hope so, she told herself, as she managed to smile a bit finally.

---

"Commander, they're here! And, they are definitely not Black Hole." the subcommander informed Sheila, who shook her head. Right when she was getting comfortable on the Lander, too, she thought, and then chuckled softly. They were certainly fashionably late, she told herself, as she stood up and walked towards the lander's bay doors that were still open. She had decided to make use of the lander's open area (the units that had been assigned to it had been destroyed by the onslaught of shells and tanks) as a place for the wounded to get treatment.

"Alright, thank you. Close the doors after this, and make sure everyone in here gets medical treatment as best we can provide here." she told the subcommander, who saluted and went out to give the orders again. What a bother... treaties had never been in the job description for a CO! Certainly not meeting to keep from warring with another country, either. Then again, there had been no contact with outside nations other than Black Holes in, well, many years. Certainly, longer than she could ever remember. "This had better not be a trick." she told herself as she stepped down the ramp and onto the sand once more. She looked to the fore, and found two vehicles that were not from her units, but quite similar all the same. Recons, she told herself, even as a red-haired woman got out of the vehicle on the left.

From the other vehicle, a younger red-haired girl in nothing more than a tank top and khakis jumped from the machine gun position. A pair of youngsters, one a black-haired boy with a sling on his right arm, and the other a girl with black hair tied back into a tight ponytail, came out as well. The boy wore an orange jumpsuit- obviously Orange Star, she thought. The other wore a yellow uniform, almost the same color as the sand but a much richer yellow all the same. Sheila smiled a little- trusting fools, she realized, but then remembered the battle plan that they had utilized before the battle had begun in earnest.

They were not fools- their forces had been destroyed, after all. They came with no guard, however, and that made her relax. Two recon vehicles against several tank units, bombers, battle copters... Sheila knew that they came with good intentions. These four that had come from the vehicles walked side by side toward her as she stood in front of the ramp of the lander, which was now drawing upwards like a drawbridge back towards the hull of the ship. The doors soon slowly began to close around the ramp, and as they shut with a loud clang, the four before her stopped. One boy, two girls, and the woman. The woman came forward first, and did something that no one could have expected.

The red haired older woman came forward, and bowed to Sheila before saluting her in the same way that all Silver Mountain soldiers saluted a CO. Her right hand, fingers aligned with thumb, pressed against her forehead. Her left hand was set the same way against her left side, finding purchase against a green-uniformed leg. In response, Sheila saluted the green-uniformed one with a small smile. Then, finding that none seemed to care to speak, she did the only logical thing she could think of. She began the meeting.

"My name is Sheila. I am a commanding officer from Silver Mountain. We are seeking out Black Hole. The other commanding officer that was with me attempted to meet with you last night, but his transport was shot down by your missiles. Your act of aggression triggered this battle. What have you to say?" she said. She knew that negotiations were not her forte. Indeed, she thought to herself, she had never foreseen a scenario like this one. Sheila wanted desperately to ask about Arik, if he was alive still, but not yet. She could not show an ounce of weakness in her resolve towards these people that had attacked them first. She stood face to face with the red-haired woman now.

The boy winced slightly, the movement catching the Silver Mountain CO's attention. Had he been with the troops, perhaps? Or, most likely, he had been near where the missiles that her submarines had launced had hit. That was probably the case, she decided, as she looked at the four again. The yellow-uniformed young woman was helping to support the boy- obviously, he had a hurt arm, perhaps shoulder, and maybe even his right leg, from the way he was being supported. "My name is Jess. I am a commanding officer of Green Earth." the red-haired woman said to Sheila. She turned her attention back to Jess, and nodded slightly. That meant nothing, yet, to her. But, why was she here, on what was obviously Orange Star land? Had Green Earth taken over Orange Star?

"My name is Sami. I'm a CO here in Orange Star. This is Andy, a fellow CO from Orange Star, and beside him is Sonja, a CO from Yellow Comet." the younger red-head said now, and Sheila looked to her. A CO from yet another country? Very unusual... Most peculiar, she thought to herself. Why were there CO's from three countries in a single one? Unless it was because they wished to meet the newcomers, she told herself. Arik had been right. To introduce themselves first would have been neighborly, after all. And perhaps, the bloodshed between their two countries could have been avoided! After all, these countries must not be at war with one another, if they were able to co-exist like this. "As for Black Hole... we beat them months ago, all of our countries combined. Sturm didn't stand a chance."

Sheila's eyes went wide in shock at this. Sturm had been defeated? The man known for his Meteor Strike attacks had been defeated by a country other than Silver Mountain, before her homeland could deal its revenge? "That does not, however, excuse your attack on a lone transport." she replied now. Now was a good time to let her grievance out to air with the four CO's before her, an obviously captive audience. Unless Orange Star had intel that she didn't, it was quite obvious that the missiles that had hit the transport had come from their units. And even if they denied it, if any of them denied it, their denial could still be a fabrication.

---

Jess was surprised by Sheila's demeanor. She was pretty sure of herself, Jess thought to herself, even as she listened to the woman's claims. At the sound of her blaming Orange Star for the initial attack, she couldn't fault the woman, obviously. The shrapnel at the site of the downed transport had confirmed the fact that ordnance from an Orange Star missile launcher had taken it down. However, she knew the Orange Star CO's fairly well by now, and also knew that Orange Star in general never started a war. They ended them, as had been obvious in both of the Black Hole wars.

"At the time of that copter coming in, Sami, Sonja, and Jess were asleep, miss Sheila." Andy said now, stepping forward to take the center of attention away from Jess for at least a short moment. "I was working on that recon vehicle that we got out of. I was the only commanding officer awake, and I gotta tell you, I never gave an order to attack to a single unit at that time. But, as I was the one in charge..." he said slowly now. He was telling the truth, Jess could tell. The boy didn't lie. It wasn't that he couldn't, but that he knew when to do so and when not to. This was obviously one of those times. "I take full responsibility for the attack, and though I can't apologize enough to you for the attack and the battle that began this morning, I do apologize wholeheartedly."

Sami and Sonja were looking at Andy in surprise, and Jess smiled slightly. Oh yes, she considered. The boy was a good kid, definitely CO material. It would have been interesting to have matched up against him during the first war, she thought to herself, as the boy shifted slightly as he stood, his left hand hanging at his side as he looked to the sand. Andy sure seemed to be taking it hard, she mused, even as she shifted her gaze back up to the Silver Mountain CO again. Sheila seemed to be dismayed at this display, perhaps wondering what she should do? There was a flash of anger in her eyes, it seemed, and Jess had to think it must be because of what happened just last night to her comrade.

"And your comrade is alive, commander Sheila." Jess said, and waved her men forward. Two men carried a stretcher between them, moving slowly towards the small group that remained just outside the lander, but in its shadow that was cast onto the beach that they stood on. A slight breeze made Jess shudder a little. The beach was an awful place at times, she considered. It left one open to the elements... and to attacks. "I found him in the wreckage of the copter, as I told you earlier. He was pretty badly hurt, so we treated him as best we could while being bombarded by your battleships. I don't know how well he will recover."

When Sheila saw the young man that had been rescued, she ran over as the pair of men set him down on the beach. She was in awe that he hadn't been hurt more seriously than he was, though even now he was in bad shape. The uniform had been set over his body, Jess knew- because of his left arm, which was now in a sling, he wouldn't be able to wear it easily. And the bandages that were around his midsection also had been in the way. She had helped to prepare his body for moving, and that had been part of the reason why she had been so late in arriving, earlier.

"I am glad to see that you CO's are honorable, it seems. You have kept your word, Jess. I shall not go back on mind, though to continue this battle is something I would like to do at this point, seeing as you began all this. But, for my comrade's sake and for peace between us, which is what he would want, I will let you aboard." the woman said, kneeling now beside the boy she had flirted with just early yesterday evening. She'd just been playing with him, after all- something that she knew he hadn't had to deal with since he had been a kid. After all, she knew his past. Jess watched this, oblivious to the thoughts of the younger woman, and smiled a little. At least she showed concern for a fallen friend. Sheila took out a communicator and spoke into it quickly. "Open the door and let down the ramp! We have Arik out here, and he's been badly injured. Have the medics ready in there!"

"We would be honored." Jess replied, smiling a little as she watched the exchange. So, Silver Mountain retained the compassion that they had once been known for, years ago. Of course, there were only a pair of CO's that would remember such that were still around today, but neither were here at this little meeting.

---

With that, the bay doors opened and the ramp slipped down from where it had been set within the hull of the ship, and a medical team quickly made its way down to get the stretcher with Arik on it. From there, Sheila led the four CO's into the ship, and then details were exchanged between them. All the while, Arik was taken into surgery, and for hours, the young CO was in the care of the ship's doctors.

Several days passed...

---

"Excellent..." Adder said to himself. He had a croissant on the table beside him, along with his newest blend of coffee. But, it was neither the taste of his snack nor the coffee that he had just sipped that he commented on. He had sent Hawke the latest news, of Silver Mountain's emergence from the oceans of Wars World and to Orange Star. He had even managed to pull up satelite images of the short meeting that had taken place outside the Silver Mountain landing ship. Adder had pulled up what little information that had been obtained from Silver Mountain's military data, and managed to locate some news on the female CO that had met the four he had met before from the most recent war.

"Sheila... my, what an interesting girl." he mused, speaking to himself once more. These days, it was rare that he personally gave a command to anyone. He had a small dossier on the young woman, which had been accumulated from the time she had been noticed by Lash to when she had led an attack on the Asciral region of Silver Mountain and drove out the subcommander in charge there. She had then gone on to join the Silver Mountain's growing army under the command of Lance, and from there information was sketchy at best until this most recent sighting.

It was something that made him frown, disgusted by his operatives' lack of tact. Indeed, they had repeatedly been unable to infiltrate Silver Mountain's army or intelligence network. They were always found out, somehow. His operatives in other countries had been having so much success that a failure left a taste as bitter as... and he sipped his coffee, only to spit it back out onto the cold floor. Carpet had turned out to be too much of a luxury here- a good thing in this case. "Damn this coffee!" he exclaimed loudly, rather surprised by the now very bad taste of it, as well as the cold of the liquid in the mug. He had enjoyed the first sip, but this time it was too cold. "Minions, get in here and clean this up! And get me another cup of coffee!" he called out, and a man in a black uniform with a clear helmet came in with a mop.

"Yes sir! Right away, sir!" the man said quietly to the lanky, near-albino looking man as he got on his knees to use a towel that he was always equipped with these days to wipe up the mess. Adder smiled slowly as he watched his 'slave' at work. He'd ordered several guards that remained outside his office to carry cleaning supplies so that they could clean anything that spilled, either outside the room or inside of it. Another man was soon inside, and carried a steaming mug of coffee that was soon presented to the commanding officer, second only to Hawke himself.

Without a word of thanks to the 'slave' that brought him the new cup of coffee, Adder took the mug and took a sip again from it. Then he gave out a startled yelp and threw the cup against the soldier's helmet, the ceramic mug crashing and breaking against the helmet. The lethal projectile that had contained coffee shattered and cracked the helmet of the man that had worn the helmet, even as Adder got angry and started in on the man. "That was too hot! Can't you fools get anything right at all? Hurry up, clean this up and get me a new cup of coffee... or I'll send you to Lash's R&D department!"

The two soldiers glanced at each other, and each inwardly sighed as they dreaded -that- particular department. They'd known people to be sent there before... and never heard from them again. Wordlessly, they hurriedly began cleaning up the spilled coffee and shattered mug that once contained the commanding officer's favorite drink. The first soldier in was soon heading out with the remnants of the coffee mug, and the second left soon afterwards to get a new cup of coffee for their commander. Adder's voice sang out after the second one, too, after he finished a bite from his croissant. "Bring me a danish, too! On the double!"

---

Sheila had had printed off packets that detailed Silver Mountain's war to drive off Black Hole for the four CO's about Black Hole's invasion of Silver Mountain as best as their military knew it to be. Around ten years ago, the leader of Black Hole, Sturm had invaded with his entire military force. Silver Mountain, at the time, had been known as being the most peaceful nation in the world. Though it retained many resources, no other countries were close enough to Silver Mountain to be able to mount an offensive attack on it. Relations with other countries had always been strained, thanks to this distance.

Nothing, however, could have saved them from the attack that Sturm had mounted. No one knew where he had come from, but when he came he brought three promising young CO's and a fourth CO that he counted on more. It was in Silver Mountain that he took his people, enslaving the population of the country to do their bidding. It was here, also, that the CO's that he had brought were put into extensive training. Lash, Hawke, and Flak were all sent to do his bidding, destroying any and all resistance that was created by the once peaceful nation.

Eventually, five years ago, Sturm left the country to do something that not even Silver Mountain had been able to discover. It was after that, that the three CO's began to double their training, a force behind them driving them to continue their work upon the citizens of the country that had been conquered. Massacres were created. Flak had dealt death to many cities in Silver Mountain in his reckless zeal to destroy and conquer. Lash began working on an advanced tank unit that carried a powerful cannon and machine gun, and yet be as maneuverable as a normal tank. It took a few years, but the prototypes were created and slaughters began anew with the Neotanks.

Of Hawke, little could be said. The man remained behind the scenes, mostly, manipulating the populace and using his troops to quell any uprisings. Of the three, he was the one who did the least damage, and never killed without, to him, just cause. However, there was always someone behind the bunch- someone pulling the strings. Whoever it was had a sick mind and was a quick thinker. But then, Lance took command of a few rag-tag rebellion cells, and began to strike back. Lance was a thinker more than a leader, and had from the start made his few friends that had ties with the old research and development of weapons in the nation begin work on new designs.

The first battles had gone poorly- Lash had commanded the troops they faced, and the new commander lost again and again. It was after a changing of the guards that they had been able to win a single victory, after a year of preparation. Subcommanders were left in charge, for some reason. Lash, Flak, and Hawke had left the country, and no one knew what had happened to them or where they might have gone. That was when Lance began to really build the Silver Mountain military. Their power grew, support for their land bringing uprisings so large in the cities that the Black Hole controlled that they needed to use infantry to quell them. But despite this, the fledgling army grew. Sheila and Net joined up after their resistance cells were offered the chance, and from there the army began to defeat the commanders.

It took almost a year to defeat the Black Hole army that had remained. The last year before the order to reach Orange Star was spent in rebuilding fallen cities and bringing their land from the brink of death itself. The army grew, and trained hard. New weapons had been made: Cruise missiles, such as the ones that had been launched from the submarines and had targeted around the Orange Star field HQ. Hover tanks, which could carry a squad of infantry, equipped with a normal tank's cannon and a light machine gun and yet be deployed while they were still at sea. Aircraft Carriers, capable of servicing and deploying four air units. Tankers that could act like APCs, while at sea. Even more were being thought up, but none were anywhere past the prototype stage as of yet.

A few weeks ago, Sheila and Arik had been given a message to reach Orange Star, in an effort to find the Black Hole's army. According to Lance's intelligence and information recovered from Black Hole's computers and notes after their defeat, the Black Hole had gone this way to try and take over the remaining continents of Wars World. What happened after that, they did not know, but now they had to deal with the fact that Black Hole still existed, somewhere.

---

This information was very disturbing to Sonja... So, there had been another country that was conquered by Black Hole, before even the first war had begun! She had thought the notes she found during that war to just be some sort of diversion. The Yellow Comet CO sighed softly as she picked up the packet that had been printed out for her. So much information, so little time... and there was still the problem with Sheila. She didn't trust any of them, and Sonja couldn't bring herself to blame the woman. After all, her comrade had nearly been killed by missiles from one of Orange Star's units.

Too confusing, she thought, considering just how lucky the four CO's were to be alive. If Jess hadn't found that young man, then it was quite likely that they would not be alive right now. Sheila was hot-headed and obviously wired to attack if provoked. And if attacking a friend or fellow officer wasn't enough provocation, then no one would ever fight. This little cease-fire couldn't last forever, at this rate. Eventually, Sheila would either withdraw or begin to invade the land in an effort to provide ground support for her troops. Dammit. And with the firepower she could bring to bear... well, there were only a few CO's that she knew of that would be able to keep an onslaught from such a fleet from doing as they wished.

Why had Black Hole left Silver Mountain? It had been a very good base, far enough away from the other four continents to stay hidden from them. Of course, they couldn't reach the main continents of Wars World from there unless they had used tankers as well... So strange. So, during the first Black Hole War, she thought to herself. Those four other CO's had been in training. Wait! She blinked and looked through the papers one more time. No mention of Adder anywhere in them? So, the other three had beenin training. Where had Adder been during this time? A memory tugged at the back of Sonja's mind, attempting to surface. But no, she was too busy concentrating to bother with a memory that was threatening to come up for who knew what reason. She sighed softly, and then shook her head.

With a look to the gray ceiling, the CO from Yellow Comet closed her eyes. What would father think of all this? And Sensei, she wondered, looking intently at the metal surface above. Surely they would have some sort of wisdom to impart to her... but what? 

For once, the queen of intel was unsure of just how this could proceed.

---

In the intensive care unit of the landing craft, the CO that had gone down with the transport copter stayed in a deep slumber. Asleep or unconscious, the young man was being watched by not only the other CO of Silver Mountain, but also by all the troops within the ship as they passed by. This was a new sight to these troops- only his own would remember his ever being at their side during combat.

"So... this is Arik, eh?" came a quiet voice, as Sheila sat on a chair beside the medical cot. She looked up and saw that Orange Star CO, Sami. Sheila nodded slightly, having to suppress a flash of anger that threatened to make its way onto her face and into her eyes. How dare this girl come so close? Did she wish to finish the job she had made her troops begin? She watched as the young girl stopped moving closer, and then just stood not too far away, watching the other CO for a moment. "I am truly sorry that this happened, Sheila." she said to the woman.

Sheila's rage flared once more and she glared at the girl. Sorry? She certainly would be, the Silver Mountain CO thought to herself, coming to her feet quickly. Her breathing came faster as she shivered a little, restraint clamping back down on the emotion that she felt within her body that was making her act too quickly for her mind to keep up. Sami stepped back as she watched the other CO do this, and though she had no doubts that she could beat Sheila hand-to-hand, it was unlikely anyone would bother to think of it as self-defense here.

Then, a voice only Sheila knew came from nearby, and a slight groan marked the turning point of the other Silver Mountain CO's slumber. "Where's... the tank? The one that hit me?" he muttered lowly, and Sheila turned, her rage forgotten now as she smiled slowly. Sami just had to grin- the man's words had disarmed the woman, just like that!

Sheila chuckled softly and shook her head slowly. Somehow, this CO had a way to disarm those who were around him. Very strange... but also very welcome, too, at this time. She stepped over and set her hand on the young man's shoulder, giving a little pat after a short moment and looking over to Sami again. "I... I am sorry. Once he feels better, he will be dealing with you commanding officers. I'm afraid that I am not the negotiator that anyone expects me to be. Though, you did shoot him down- it is possible that he might be a bit biased as well." she told the red-haired CO. Sami just nodded to her and walked back towards the hallway that led to the quarters that Sheila had provided them.

---

Author's Note: To tell the truth, this fic was, and still is, an experiment in storytelling for modern-era writing for me. I'm working on several different fanfics right now: MML-based, a sci-fi fic on Wing Commander 1 (not the movie!), a small three or four chapter series for Fire Emblem, and I'm toying with the idea of writing my own original medieval fantasy fic. Basically, those would be the reasons (along with work, that is) as to why I probably won't be updating much more often than once a week or so for this one. Again, all reviews are welcomed, including flames, but if you are anonymously reviewing, please only review once for a single chapter. And if you review once per chapter, please don't make the reviews the same thing.

Hmm... Another muse-less chapter. I think Tron must be happy or something. I know I am! lol 


	5. Chapter 5

Silver Mountain's Revenge Chapter 5

Author's Note: Wow... chapter 5 already? Simply amazing. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed in my last chapter even before I got Foulds review. To tell the truth, he's right about most everything on the chapter, too, which I guess leads me to believe that I was possibly side-tracked by the other projects I mentioned at the end of the last chapter that I had been working on. Most of 'em, however, have been dealt with, so if I screw up this time, I have absolutely no good excuse to provide myself. hehe

I've also given myself a sort of deadline for finishing this series. I'm thinking no more than 12 total chapters, far less than the amount that would constitute an 'epic' (I think). I started this without any real thought as to where I'd go with it, but now I think I've got some direction to work with, finally. I'll be adding a few more faces into this particular chapter... I think you guys'll be happy that they're finally here. Any suggestions as to personalities (especially Jess, as I've never really been able to think of her much differently than Sami) are welcome, though I'd much prefer E-mail to reviews when it comes to that sorta thing.

And, just in case, I would like to apologize for the use of 'Blitzkrieg' in the previous chapter. It was certainly not my wish or intention to offend anyone by my using that particular word for the CO Power, though in retrospect it would have been much more tactful to have called it 'Bombardment' instead. If I did offend anyone by using that word, well, I truly am sorry for offending you. From now on, if I ever let Sheila use a CO power again in later chapters, that particular power shall be called 'Bombardment.'

---

It was two days later when Arik was finally released from the infirmary- stuck in a wheelchair, no less, as a result of the trauma that his limbs had been inflicted with from the destruction of that transport copter he had been in. He really had no idea as to the status of their forces, but it hadn't been too long after regaining consciousness that he realized that he was inside a Silver Mountain Lander. He knew the ships inside and out, except for Sheila's aircraft carriers. Those were simply very new, and he hadn't the chance to take a walk around one yet. None of the doctors had been allowed to tell him what was going on, and Sheila had, on the few occasions that she had come down, not told him of the status of their combined armies.

She was the senior CO. It finally dawned on him, as he was wheeled down the hallway by a staff officer, that they hadn't been moving at all! They weren't currently enroute someplace, and he sighed softly. So, the invasion had been a success, he thought to himself, even as he closed his eyes. There was a concerned voice behind him that came from the officer, and Arik blinked, shaking his head in return. No, he was fine, he told the officer, who continued to wheel him towards the board room. There was something wrong, though... at least, it seemed that way. Why was he in a lander and not some field hospital set up on the beach or on the mainland? They seemed to be moored, but he hadn't been allowed to look outside yet.

There was just so much information that he didn't have yet, hadn't been provided. None of his troops seemed to know much about the hold-up with the invasion. There were far too many troops in the lander to say that the invasion was continuing. No, something was up. The few troops he had managed to speak with all said the same- Sheila would tell him when the time was right. They were allowed to say nothing more. He hadn't anyone to actually talk to as a result of this... isolation. Too much, he told himself, as he was wheeled in through the opened doorway.

Once inside, he found that he was brought to the head of the meeting room's table. A space had been cleared away from, with no chair in place, as a result of his newfound handicap. With a sigh, Arik opened his eyes again and looked around the table. Strange people, people he'd never seen before, sat all around it. On one side was a young man and woman, probably no older than Arik was. The boy had black hair and wore an orange jumpsuit, and had a sling over his right arm. The girl had red hair of a lighter shade and wore little mre than a white tank top and jeans. On the other side was a pair of women. The one nearest to him wore a green uniform, much like his gray one, and she had red hair of a darker variety than the other girl had. The other wore a yellow uniform and had her black hair in a ponytail.

"I see Sheila has decided to not join us right now, so I shall try to be as polite as possible." he said slowly. Arik couldn't help but wonder which one of these four had commanded his transport to be shot down, but he had to remain objective. "My name is Arik, and as you probably already know, I am a commanding officer of the Silver Mountain forces. What you likely do not know is that I am pretty much the newest CO of Silver Mountain's forces, however. Is it safe to assume that all four of you know of the conditions that have forced me into this... device?" he asked the four CO's, and there was a polite nod from each one of the people present.

None of the four spoke, however, and Arik mentally sighed. "Good. Now, I must say that you all have me at a disadvantage. I don't know your names, and I am afraid that a host should most often know the names of his guests. Perhaps you might honor me with your names?" he asked of them, and the four CO's stood up around the long table. Well, he thought to himself. At least they seem to not be trying to kill me, this time.

"My name's Andy. I'm an officer from Orange Star." the boy with the sling across his arm said, and he saluted Arik as best he could with his left hand instead of his right. Arik saluted him in return, and then waited for the next one to speak. Orange Star, eh? Well, at least Black Hole hadn't taken their land over.

"My name is Sami. I'm an officer from Orange Star as well." the rough-looking girl beside the young man said, and they both sat down at the table. Sami had saluted the invalid briefly, and was provided a return salute as a response. Arik wondered again now. Two CO's from one country? They must have a surplus, he thought to himself, especially if the other two he looked to now were from the same country.

"My name is Sonja. I am an officer of Yellow Comet's army." the one with black hair said, and she saluted the young man in the wheelchair. Arik began to wish that he could actually walk on his own again- the doctors said that he would need at least another week of complete rest before he should even try walking. Unfortunately for them, this particular patient didn't care for timetables when it came to his own recovery. Unfortunately for Arik himself, the doctors knew this, and kept him under strict guard. Arik spared a glance up at the man above him and shook his head before looking back to the one who hadn't introduced herself yet.

"I'm Jess, from Green Earth." she said. This woman had much darker red hair than the girl that said her name was Sami had. She seemed kind of unusual. Much more... worldly. Definitely more mature than the other three seemed to be as well. It was just how she carried herself, really. Self-assured and very confident.

"It is nice to meet all of you." Arik replied, smiling weakly. Now, there was simply something that he had to deal with first, and he looked around at the four people who were in the room with him. "I would like to know who fired first, please. I just escaped death, and I would like to be able to get past that before we start negotiations here." he told them, smiling amiably as his gaze washed over each and every one of them. He wasn't doing much, since there wasn't anything he could actually do to them himself, in his state, and neither would his guard do anything.

The four people shifted slightly, and that got his attention. Would none of them confess to ordering the launching of the missiles that had very nearly killed him, and had obviously killed the pilot of the trasnport copter? "I suppose I should let you know that I have survived worse attacks than that particular one, my friends." he told them quietly. He didn't mean to make them think that he was indestructible (far from it), but simply meant to make them think. "Has Sheila provided you with information regarding Black Hole's involvement with Silver Mountain yet?"

Sonja spoke up, finally. "Yes, your comrade did give us material that told us about what Sturm did in your homeland, Arik. It wasn't really very specific, and the report neglected to account for a Black Hole CO that we fought during the second war. We discovered that Sturm trained his CO's in your land before bringing them here to launch his invasion." she said, and Arik nodded to her to have her continue. "We managed to beat the Black Hole several months ago, and found their base... and destroyed it before Sturm's Death Ray could be completed. I think you should know, also, that Sturm is dead."

Arik blinked in surprise, and he shivered slightly as all of a sudden, he felt heat escape his body. The cooler air rushed in, and it was a somewhat painful sensation that he found himself dealing with as he clutched his sides. "Black Hole's leader is dead? What about the other CO's?" he asked, rubbing his arms gently as he tried to bring warmth back to his body. The young man hadn't felt cold in a very long time, and this sudden exposure to that element had his complete attention.

Sonja nodded slightly. "They are all alive, as far as we know. Hawke is now the leader of the Black Hole forces, and he commands Lash, Flak, and Adder." she replied, and Arik nodded slowly. Adder was a name that he wasn't familiar with at all. Why hadn't he ever been told about a CO like that? Then, he realized that Lance must either have not provided him that information, or wasn't privy to it himself.

"I have never heard of Adder... who is that person, if I may ask?" Arik finally replied after a moment of consideration. Obviously, someone was not giving him good enough information...

---

In the following hours, it was determined that it was not likely the fault of any of the CO's present that the young CO had been fired upon. Information was exchanged, stories exchanged and then it was time for Arik to rest, doctor's orders. It was a pity, he thought to himself, as he was wheeled out from the meeting room. He'd learned so much about the latest histories of Yellow Comet, Green Earth, Orange Star and Blue Moon in the past hours... No wonder Sheila wanted him to meet them and do the learning.

According to his knowledge, Sheila had always been the type to attack first and annihilate rather than ask questions and learn about what they were actually dealing with. Ever since he'd met her in a simulator mission (and promptly got beat, mind you), he'd had to learn just how his allies operated. Sheila had been the first he had learned of.

She was stubborn and hot headed. She would throw everything she had to fight with against her opponent if she felt like it- but only if it was safe enough to do so. She wasn't stupid enough to throw her troops' lives away for no reason, but if anyone really riled her up... well, Arik knew better than to do that anymore. Her simple attack style allowed for few real tactics to be used, but those she did use were rather effective, both in defense and attack. She preferred ships and planes over any ground attack.

But now Arik had other people to worry about next. Life... just wasn't simple anymore. He'd had to deal with his own superiors and Black Hole's CO's. He had their information down, better than what Lance would likely suspect him to have. With a small smile, Arik found himself relaxing in the small 'room' that he'd had set aside in the medical bay. So little to deal with... "Damned doctors and military protocol." he exclaimed aloud, looking up to the metal ceiling. Sometimes... he just couldn't stand being here.

That thought brought Arik to a sudden halt. What was he doing here? He didn't join the military to do anything more than just protect others from being hurt or killed. Why had he become a CO? A sigh escaped the now depressed young man, and he moved to stand slowly. The feeling in his legs had been gradually and slowly returning to them, and his strength... well, he at least thought he felt more strength in them anyway. His legs seemed to quiver as he stood up, and with a push of his arms brought him upright carefully.

Then he felt a wave of... something pass through him. His legs gave out and his knees gave way as he fell to the floor, unable to halt his progress until his knees hit the floor. And then his palms struck the metal surface, layers of skin peeling away as they skid on the floor to halt gravity's control over his legs. His breathing became uneven as he shivered there, prone on the floor as he gasped slowly. Then he blinked as he looked up, and found himself looking up at a pair of legs clad in yellow. There was only one possible person on the ship that could possibly be wearing yellow in such a rich tone.

"Well now, I can see why your doctors had you in the wheelchair, Arik." Sonja said, kneeling down to help him back into the wheelchair. Arik smiled weakly back to the CO in gratitude, and then he was visibly clutching the chair's armrests as he shuddered slightly. "I should have known that escaping a wreck like you did would leave anyone weak." she said, almost a smile appearing on her face as she watched the struggling Silver Mountain CO as his breathing finally began to calm.

"Of course, Sonja. What did you expect, a man to escape unscathed? He's no Sturm or Hawke, after all." came another voice, and Arik turned to look over his shoulder. The voice belonged to Sami, but she wasn't alone. The boy that had been rather quiet lately was there as well. Andy, he remembered, and he continued to smile weakly, especially at the comparison.

"Trust me, I'm not Sturm... even if I survived a nearly face-to-face confrontation with him." he replied, and closed his eyes slowly. "Trust me... what am I saying? You don't really know me, I hardly know any of you. I can't expect you to trust my words, ya know." he said to them, sighing softly before being able to finally relax once more. It isn't very easy, he thought to himself, to deal with people that you don't know, who don't know you at all. How could he possibly trust these people? For all he knew... he was shot down by the orders of one of them.

"Don't worry about it. If there's anything that I know how to do, it's how to fix things, Arik." came Andy's voice, and Arik rolled his eyes slowly. Fix things, eh? Things probably didn't include first impressions, of course, and he just wasn't sure how to deal with these three people. With a much stronger smile on his face than before, he couldn't help but to start laughing softly, and then much more. The whole thing was ridiculous, after all.

"Fix things? First impressions can only be made once, Andy. From then on, it's a matter of proving oneself to try and create trust between two people." Arik replied, and then he shook his head slowly. "Remember that. Black Hole came to my country and attacked, enslaved our people and destroyed everyone who resisted. My meeting with Sturm was what cinched my enlisting in the army. He destroyed towns, cities, bases and villages. He would round up people who resisted him along with suspected allies of the rebels."

He took a deep breath, and then spoke again to the three who were still quiet. They stayed near each other, just being silent for now. "He rounded us up. I was pretty young then, actually. He destroyed practically everyone after calling down what he called a meteor strike. We were all civilians, not soldiers. I had seen this from afar before. The heat, the flames and radiation as well..." he told them, and then took off the uniform. His arms were bared to them. It was almost like a permanent tan on his arms, but darker. Dark brown streaks covered his upper and lower arms, his shoulders and back. The result of his near death at the hands of the mechanical tyrant that had been known as Sturm. "This is the result of what happened when I tried to escape. I curled into a ball and very nearly died. Most of my body was burned and if it wasn't for the medics that arrived, I would likely have died."

"I joined the military after I got better. I rose through the ranks by being able to provide support for the people who worked with me. I don't know how often I've been under the surgeon's knife. All I know is that, for the people of my country, I wanted to work to save them. And now? I'm in a foreign country that I never considered going to before. I never wanted to invade. Simply to protect the people I care for. That was the job I signed up for. Now look at me, I'm leading an invasion force. Am I wrong to want to protect people I don't know? Does that entail killing people that pose no threat before they can become one?"

Arik sighed softly as a result of his little speech, and shivered slowly. He'd never uttered those words before, never entertained those thoughts before. But the thought had nagged at him in the back of his mind ever since he'd been told that he would be sent off to Orange Star with Sheila. They bordered on treason, according to the military code that he'd adhered to since joining the army. His eyes closed for a moment, and then they opened again as he looked to the three CO's that were actually about his age near the doorway.

"I think I've heard enough about that before..." Sami said slowly, a smile forming on her face as she stepped forward. "A CO must weigh all decisions based upon questions like those. Every CO has asked questions like those before. Attack and negate a threat before it can become real? Or wait for a real threat to attack and risk more lives to defend? Is a good defense really a good offense? It's an answer only each person in charge of an army can actually provide. Anyone who fights will give you a reason as to why they do so, be they a part of an infantry unit or part of a neotank team."

"You have to provide your own answer. We can't answer it for you." Sonja said after that, and Andy nodded slowly as well to agree. Arik sighed again, listening to the three. Their answers were valid, very truthful. But how was he to interpret them? He didn't mind attacking to defend his people, his countrymen. But now... Silver Mountain was on the warpath, to use an ancient term. They didn't simply want to defend their country, they were hunting for Black Hole. Out for blood. He'd been so stuck on the now and to duty and honor that he'd forgotten why he had actually joined Silver Mountain's military.

---

"...And now? I'm in a foreign country that I never considered going to before. I never wanted to invade. Simply to protect the people I care for. That was the job I signed up for. Now look at me, I'm leading an invasion force. Am I wrong to want to protect people I don't know? Does that entail killing people that pose no threat before they can become one?" the voice she was listening to said. It was a voice that the listener knew fairly well, but there was a bit of a problem for her. The man saying these things was quite familiar... but then again, she had no way to know that he felt this way. There was a possibility here.

"Traitor." she said to herself, a hint of anger in her voice. There was very little that she could say now. These words... they were not the words of a man who she had served with. Had these CO's somehow overwhelmed the injured man's mind? She was now very angry at this situation. Lance must be told about this! These CO's from different lands... they must be in league with Black Hole! Her eyes seemed to be burning now as her body tensed. Then she grabbed the phone that would lead to the bridge of the Lander. 

"Takes us back to the main fleet. And then we'll go back to Silver Mountain. Detain 'officer' Arik and the CO's that we have been entertaining in the brig. Keep them under full guard. We'll interrogate the whole lot once we reach our homeland. It seems that they have some sort of way to control Arik's mind. Stay under constant vigil, and keep a watch on them at all times. We will depart right now!" she exclaimed, and then slammed the phone down onto the set.

In Orange Star ---

"What was that, Max? Those landers are debarking? Andy and Sami haven't gotten off of them either?" came the advisor's voice. Ever since the first Black Hole war, he'd been stuck in administrative limbo as Nell's aide. Damn, he thought. Andy was a good friend of his, really, ever since first teaming up with that rascal several years ago to turn old Olaf away when he'd very nearly defeated Orange Star. And Sami was an excellent soldier, very good at practically everything she did, and had become a friend of Andy's as well. She'd become his friend, too.

"Yeah, and I'd love nothing more than to send bombers and copters after 'em... but we can't endanger them, can we, old buddy?" Max's voice came from over the phone. Damn, the big bruiser was right. They couldn't take the chance that firing upon the Silver Mountain's ships could possibly kill their friends. Sonja and Jess were in there too- accidentally killing them would not be good, at all, for the relations with the other countries.

"Dammit. I'll let Nell know what's going on, Max. Keep an eye on 'em, and keep those subs of yours ready to attack if need be. Trust me, we'll get our friends back, one way or the other." he replied, and set the receiver down. This was just one of those reasons a person needed in order to force themselves to smile and stay calm and collected. Running like a chicken with its head cut off wouldn't do anything to help anyone, after all. He walked, somewhat calmly (he never could stay completely objective these days. After all, he'd once been an advisor to the CO's) towards Nell's office. A knock on the door and an 'enter' yelled a second later, and in he walked.

"Nell, I just got a report from Max. Those landers are leaving our shores now, and look like they're gonna rejoin that fleet they have off the coast. Andy, Sami, Sonja, and even Jess are still onboard. There's no way to know if they will be returning here or to some other country." he told her, and Nell sighed softly.

"Oh, just great. And we don't have the budget for a prolonged confrontation yet... Looks like I'll have to ask for support from Blue Moon. Maybe Colin can help out. He always manages to do well with any budget provided him, right?" she admitted, and the man that she had as an aide nodded slightly. She was right, Colin did manage to do a lot with a small budget like what Orange Star now had. And it would be likely that Olaf would be more than happy to 'lend' Colin's services long enough to help, if only to get Orange Star to owe him a favor.

"Alright... I'll be sure to get ahold of Olaf. That old windb... I mean, that old blowhar...er, dammit. I'll get ahold of 'im for ya and let him know what's going on." he said, and Nell just giggled a little bit before waving her 'trusted advisor' out of her office. He couldn't help but to smirk as he walked out to go make the long distance phone call. "Heh... and to think the cabinet's worried about the budget for the military. Wait 'til they get the phone bill!" he said to himself, and then wound up chuckling softly as he found himself dialing the direct line to Olaf's office.

Blue Moon ---

A thunderous bellow could be heard in every office along the same floor of the mountainous complex as a certain person picked up the incessently ringing phone. Where was that blasted secretary? Oh, that's right, she was out because of having a cold today. "Who in winter's name is this? What? Oh, I see, that blasted... I mean, advisor for Orange Star's CO's. What do you... I mean, how can I help you today, hm?" Olaf said, his voice quieting down after finally becoming a bit calmer.

"Oh, you'd like Colin to come up and help with your budget? Well, I don't know... Colin is a very dependable officer, and I'm not sure if I can spare him at this time, to tell the truth." he informed the man on the other side of the line. A lie, of course, at least that second part. Dependable, yes, but he was certainly not busy right now. He didn't really train with his troops, and so as a result, he wasn't exactly the most dependable CO- his troops respected him, and somewhat believed in him, but he was little more than a little rich kid from a prominent family in society. Maybe that was why his troops were only second-rate? Who knows.

It only took a little more convincing before Olaf finally conceded to the other man's intolerable whining. He was certainly good at that, at least, and then the bearded one gave his agreement to send Colin up to help Orange Star. Grit had reported in on that troubling situation up north in Orange Star's western coast, about that nuisance of a fleet that had ripped Andy and Sami's forces to shreds. They were in dire straights up there, and having a country in his debt was certainly something that would brighten his day considerably. "Ah, if only it were snowing. Then the day would be complete!" he muttered aloud, before settling back into the worn, rather comfortable chair that he had been using ever since the day he had defected to Blue Moon.

It was only a moment later after he began musing as to how to cash in on the favor that the advisor had promised him that the chair gave way beneath good 'ol Frosty. The armrests fell off, falling to the side as the back just seemed to fall backwards, and with it, Olaf himself as he found himself sprawled on the once sturdy chair, groaning softly.

Elsewhere, in the security room, there was a lanky man snickering at Olaf's misfortune, and a young boy looking on with concern. "Well now, ah reckon that I won our bet, don't ya think, son?" came the man's drawling voice, and the young boy nodded, pulling out a single bill for the CO that had won their little wager. That chair had been threatening to fall apart for months now, since even before the second Black Hole invasion. Of course, leave it to the man with the eye for detail to win the bet.

"Yes, sir!" he said, handing the older man the bill. A single G bill. They were working for the man, after all, and just wanted some fun. They weren't about to bet large amounts, after all! After a moment longer, they both began chuckling lowly again, as Olaf called out for Grit, and then Colin... and then for anybody to help! Colin headed off after a moment to go help Olaf up, the humor waning for him quickly as he listened to the man he idolized cry out. Grit watched him go and shook his head as he thought that he was just a good kid. Though he did grin as he thought about one more thing- how would Colin be able to help ol' Frosty up?

---

The sound of scraping metal along sand immediately got the attention of Arik, and he groaned softly. "Dammit. I think you'ave all just been taken prisoner." he said to the three who were looking around in surprise. CO's from three different countries had just been taken prisoner! Not to mention himself. "You guys don't deserve this... Come on, follow me. Doctor! I order you to open the cargo door immediately!" the young CO yelled out. Even if Sheila was still in charge of the fleet, he thought to himself. Even if that was the case, he still had command over the troops that didn't know her direct orders.

"Guards! Have a hover tank sent over from another ship, immediately. I will be leaving to reconnoiter the mainland." he exclaimer, and there were loud footsteps leading away as his orders began to be followed. Andy and Sonja were standing near each other, and Sami was standing fairly close to the young man in the wheelchair. "I have a request of you three. Take me back to Orange Star with you, unless it is inconvenient or impossible. I do not want to see you as prisoners."

Sonja blinked, looking to the temporarily crippled young man. Was this guy for real? She knew that she, nor any of the other CO's in their part of the world, ever spoke of peace as much as he had been. He was willing to throw his own importance away to save them- who would ever have thought it possible? "You got it, Arik." came the voice from the boy next to her, and both Sami and Sonja looked at the young man that they'd fought alongside before. "We ain't in this for love of war, after all." he said, and Sami smiled as Sonja just considered his words. What Andy had just said seemed to spark a memory in the redhead... but what it was, only she knew.

"Thanks..." came Arik's reply, and he began wheeling himself towards the door. "Come on, we gotta get goin' now. If we don't, there's gonna be a lot of hell to pay. And likely, you'll be the ones catching the bill." he told them, and the three parted around him, only to find Jess leaning against the doorway, beyond the curtain that had been the 'border' of his room. The old redhead grinned and then turned around as she looked slowly about the large cargo area.

"We'd better move, and now, you guys. I don't think I want to see Eagle pissed off that I left again, ya know. I don't know about you four, but we better hurry up, too. I'm not a good swimmer." she said, and then all five CO's began to rush along the cargo room towards the opening bay doors. They soon saw how far away they were from the shore, and then there was quite the audible groan that escaped from Jess. Arik smirked slightly at that.

"Hey... at least you can swim. I'll be lucky if I can float, at this rate." he quipped, and then grinned as he felt his chair get pushed faster by someone behind him. With a glance over his shoulder, Arik saw Sami there, pushing him faster to keep up with the other CO's, and he chuckled softly. Where was that damned hover tank? If it didn't get here soon... things would soon be outta hand, and the shore out of reach. And then there was Sheila's battleships... and there was enough firepower in them to tear apart every single hover tank in his small armada that he could possibly order over, let alone a single unit.

"Relax! We need you alive, after all. If you can't swim, we'll drag you back to Orange Star. Got it?" Sami told him, and everyone laughed as they neared the exit ramp. The hover tank made its way up to the ramp now, finally reaching the lander, and with a yank that caught the Silver Mountain CO by surprise, Sami and Jess practically threw him from the wheelchair and up onto the back deck of the hover tank- the strength of a tank, the versatility of a recon unit, and the capacity of an APC, all in one over-expensive unit. The others quickly got into the infantry bay, and then the hover tank was gone, rejoining the rest of its unit outside before speeding away over the water, fans blasting quickly as they wandered further and further out of the range of battleships that had been dormant, yet drawing ever closer...

---

"Fire at will!" came the command from a CO, and cannons aimed upwards, shells loading with powerful charges. If she couldn't have her way, then he could not have his. Despite her orders, he'd managed to call upon his own people to save him. Sheila watched with nigh insane fury as the hover tank unit sped away quickly... could her battleships fire in time to catch them in their range? It would be a very, very close call. Killing five CO's, including her own 'partner' would make her a very wanted woman on this side of the world, but traitors were easier to deal with. That man she had toyed with but a few days ago was now her hated enemy- second only to Black Hole.

"You won't get away..." she mused, smiling to herself slowly as her eyes remained locked on the fleeing unit of hover tanks. Oh, she thought only of one true thing- destroying her one-time comrade. The others were incidental damage, collatoral deaths as a result of his incompetence and betrayal. They'd die anyway, and as she heard the roaring of shells being fired from the battleships that she'd been heading towards within the lander, her smile grew wider.

Elsewhere ---

A rather evil laughter escaped not one, but two people who were watching the monitor. It wasn't often that Adder, the wiry man from parts unknown, had company. He much preferred Flak's company to this one's, but at least she was far more intelligent and could understand the irony in what they were seeing. Adder looked on from his seat before the large screen TV that he'd had stolen and flown in from Blue Moon- they had the best known brands of televisions in the world, after all. Finally, the sick man thought to himself as he took a bite from the danish, a brand of pastry that he'd become rather fond of in the past day or two.

"This is great! And you made this happen, Adder? You're almost as smart as I am... even if I don't know how you forced it to this." came the young girl's voice, and Adder beamed magnificently at the admirer that he had gained as a result of a well bought unit at the right time. Lash was here. Her hair was black and stood on end, creating a dreadful hairdo known throughout the world as something called an 'afro'. It was almost as out of style as Olaf's 'Santa'-look, he mused, and grinned sadistically.

"My young friend, I have learned many tricks that not even Hawke knows of yet, and Sturm never knew. And if I were to share that knowledge with you, I think that I shall have met the end of my usefulness to anyone. The time shall come, however, when my pawns become yours as well!" he exclaimed, still grinning as Lash listened and watched the screen as the battleships fired off salvo after salvo of shells. Battleships were some of her favorite toys, even when they were her own and destroyed. At least they blew up nicely, after all. She wore a gleam in her eyes as she watched the trajectory of the shells when the camera panned back, allowing her to watch the shells themselves as they flew into the air in an arc, and then began to slowly fall back down towards the earth again.

"Remember, you're still giving me those two guards to help with my research, right?" she asked, the shells still falling slowly. The camera man for the camera knew his job well, both CO's realized, and he nodded. That man would soon be given a small gift in reward for such beneficial services, unlike the two buffoons who had always managed to make a mess from his coffee and pastries. And they could never stay clean while in his presence! Giving them to Lash would be perfect punishment for their 'crimes'.

"Of course, Lash." the thin man known as Adder said in return, sipping the steaming coffee from the mug he now held in his hand. "Of course."

---

Author's Note: Okay, the pairing I have in mind will have to wait a bit longer, now. hehe. Anyway, I finally managed to fit Blue Moon into the picture! I hope you guys don't mind the humor involved, especially after the angst I had set into the fic beforehand. Yes, soon I'll also be bringing in more CO's (most notably, Black Hole's ), and I'll be trying to add in more humor. I haven't had the chance to try any sort of 'escape'-action in a fic for quite a while now, so the next chapter should be interesting, to tell the truth. Reviews are always welcome! 


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Hehe... did I really come off as that depressed in the author's notes in the last chapter? No worries. I think this'll come off as my 'anniversary' fic, since I just passed the four year mark here on I'll have to work on another fic as well, I think... a one-shot. I just have to decide what fandom to write it for. Anyway, I hope that I manage to keep the narrator's voice and the thoughts of the different characters away from one another this time... this'll be the first time I'll be using wordpad to work on my fics, since I'm used to working with textpad to get the job done.

---

On the 'deck' of the hovercraft, there lay a single body. Three others stood nearby, looking back in comparison to the direction that the tank was heading. Dry land was fairly closeby in comparison to where the fleet was... Of course, the flying water from the shells that flew past and into the ocean near the ship washed up along the hull of the craft, and splashed on the people that were on the deck as well. There was a yell, and then a shuddering as a shell fell far too close to the hovertank for comfort.

Jess was impressed by the craft's maneuverability and the way that the tank was taking practically no damage from the near misses. She stood near the edge of the tank- she was comfortable on vehicles, not ships or aircraft. This was a wonderful vehicle! She couldn't help but grin as she watched the battleships far behind the tank that she was riding on top of. It was very strange... How could such a fast vehicle possibly have the firepower that it boasted? And then be able to hold infantry as well? A powerful, versatile vehicle, but the infantry was definitely as exposed as the hovertank was... and the armor didn't seem nearly as strong as a tank's was.

"Hurry up, men! Get us onto land fast, we don't want to be in range of those cannons anymore!" came the voice again, as the hover tank crested a large wave. There was an unusual feeling of near-weightlessness that made itself known for a mere moment before the tank slammed down onto the surface of the ocean again, causing a rather powerful jolt that nearly forced everyone who was standing to fall down. As it was, the three who were standing only nearly fell down, having to clutch the railing about the deck to keep on their feet. "Sheesh..." Arik muttered. He wasn't one of the ones standing up, of course. He'd been tossed up onto the deck of the hovercraft by Sami and Jess.

And that toss had hurt his already hurt legs quite a bit as a result of the landing. The salt water that splashed up onto his body, still clothed in his gray uniform, stung almost unbearably. "Why me?" he muttered to himself, and then closed his eyes slowly. It seemed, from the lack of thunderous explosions nearby and afar, that they'd finally moved out of range of the battleships that Sheila commanded. _Damned woman_! _She was far too simple-minded for his own good, _he knew. _Why didn't she see the larger picture, ever, outside of battle_?

"Damn... Get us back to their field HQ, quick!" he yelled out, pain evident in his voice as he opened his eyes and propped himself up enough to look over his shoulder towards the crew pit of the tank. "Radio our troops, and tell them to get away from Sheila's fleet if they can." he told his crew, who hurried to comply with their commander's orders. One of the crew yelled back to him- telling Arik that they'd already done that. He grinned- his troops were far from the drones that he'd known Black Hole to use. They at least siezed the initiative if they could. Sheila hadn't noticed that his fleet was now nowhere in sight, and the young Silver Mountain CO nodded slightly.

"Whew... we're safe!" Andy's voice came as the sound of the fans underneath the hovertank changed from forcing air against water into air forced against sand. Andy started laughing and Sami smiled. Jess looked relieved as she wiped at her mouth, and Arik winced slightly. Somehow, he was able to guess that they'd have to wash off that section of the tank soon. He heard a sigh from behind, and he looked back towards the one that had been sitting fairly nearby- she had known better than to stand during this whole time, at least. _Unlike her friends_, he thought to himself, and he chuckled softly. At the sound of his laughter, Sonja looked to Arik, as if to ask a question.

"You don't need to worry now. There's only so much Sheila can do on land, and she doesn't have the fuel to remain here much longer. She'll have to go back to Silver Mountain now." Arik told Sonja, grinning slightly. That was, of course, only a little information that he had to give her. He knew more about the Silver Mountain CO's than anyone else did, after all. She nodded simply and smiled a little. Cute girl, he thought, but as he watched her look over to Andy, he couldn't help but to smile a little bit. Was there more between them than he had thought earlier? _No way to know now_, he told himself. If there was something there, perhaps he'd actually see it. _In due time_.

---

The hovertank came to a stop after a while, having gone far enough inland that the battleships not only could not be seen but could not fire upon them, and the craft landed on the open plains as the sound of copters overhead and the rumbling of treads on the ground came from all around. Arik blinked and looked around- definitely not Silver Mountain's troops, he could tell, simply from the sounds of the machines. Their machines were quieter, and had a different quality from their rotors and motors. "Oh boy..." he sighed, watching as Neotanks came into sight, along with smaller medium tanks. Battle copters surrounded the hovertank, and infantry unloaded from concealed positions in the woods.

"Heh... Good 'ol Max. Always knew he would be here if we couldn't win." Sami commented, waving off to a Neotank that was lined in a light blue, though it was still orange for the most part. It stopped and a hatch on the top popped open, and a rather big man came up from inside the tank. Arik watched as the man jumped off the tall tank, and he just shook his head. Damn... _He was as big as Flak, if the profiles were at all correct about the size of the Black Hole CO. Maybe even bigger_, he thought to himself as the man walked up to the hovertank. Jess jumped down from the tank, and staggered to keep on her feet as she nearly fell to the ground. Sami was helping Andy to get off the tank as well, and Sonja was over there also to help Andy get off the tank.

"Phew. Now..." he muttered, and began crawling over to the crew pit of the tank. A hatch opened on the hovertank, and the crew got out- they knew what happened, what was supposed to happen, when was outnumbered thoroughly on the field. Two of them walked over to the invalid CO on the deck and helped him to his feet, holding him steady between them as the crew supported his weight. The third of the crew waited near the hatch, hand positioned near his firearm. Arik heard voices, and looked past his hovertank to see Sami, Andy, and Sonja speaking with the one that they'd called Max. Jess was leaning against the tank as well, watching the proceedings.

_This would be interesting, he thought, as he waited either to be captured and his men disarmed_. Infantry came up between the tank units with their rifles raised, aiming at the crew of his hovertank and himself. When one of the men ordered him to stand up, Arik just rolled his eyes and sighed softly. _Stand up_? "If I could stand, I would already. You'd be luckier to just pull my finger and getting a response than I do from telling myself to stand by myself!" he told the infantry man, who just stared in shock at the CO's words. Arik chuckled softly as he saw the bewildered look on the soldier's face, and he could tell that his own soldiers were grinning as well. "Come on, let's get down on the ground. I'm sure they would prefer us where we will be eye-level, after all." Arik told his men, and they immediately prepared to move their CO from the deck as the Orange Star CO's came over to help.

The first one there was that big bruiser that he'd seen get out of that first Neotank. "Here, hand 'im over. Don't worry, I'll be real careful with him, okay?" he told the soldiers. Arik nodded to them as they looked to the big guy warily- trust someone they'd never met with their commander? Why would they ever do that, hm? Except when ordered to by their commander, and the two soldiers who were holding Arik between them nodded in return to Max. They knelt down and carefully let their commander drop down over the edge of the tank as Arik winced at their grip. That was a tender spot they were holding onto! Then he felt both of Max's hands under his arms, and was surprised at how careful the big man was as he was set onto the ground.

"Hm... Looks like we'll have to find some sorta wheelchair for ya." Max commented, smiling a little as he stood back up from having to kneel down to set the enemy CO on the ground. He didn't know this kid much, but according to Andy and Sami, he was actually a good guy from what they could tell so far. So far, though, the big man of Orange Star wasn't impressed. The kid wasn't even someone who was physically daunting, and he didn't project an air of superiority. He was kinda like Colin in that regard. But then, he knew that sometimes, despite his hopes, there was often more to people than what meets the eye. Kinda like war, really, he thought to himself as the kid just nodded slightly. The gray uniformed soldiers who had exited the strange tank unit now stood behind their CO, and the two who had carried him a moment ago quickly knelt down to pick the kid up.

"Thanks." Arik said to the big guy before looking around slowly. "Ya know, don't you think that such a large force is almost over-kill against a single hover tank?" he asked, a sly grin appearing on the wounded CO's face as he looked back to Arik. There was some talking near his tank that Arik could hear, and he made out the voice to be Jess's voice. Probably on the radio with someone, he figured, as he watched Max shake his head slowly. Somehow, Arik could guess what this man was good at. He was pretty direct with his words so far, and with what he had done by bringing his small army out into the open field like this. "My name's Arik. Sorry I can't get around on my own feet right now, but things have been a bit busy these days, and my legs are dead tired."

There was a burst of laughter from nearby, and Arik looked around Max to see Andy, Sami, and Sonja standing a ways away behind the big man, obviously listening to what was going on. He looked back up to Max's face, who was grinning as he watched the smaller CO. Definitely sarcastic and unafraid at this point. Max approved of this guy as a CO already, even if he had commanded the fleet that had torn up Andy and Sami's forces a while ago. "No need to worry about that, kiddo. I mean, Arik." he said. _Damn Grit_, Max thought. _Now I'm giving the kids nicknames_! Arik's face just clouded over at being called kiddo, and Max didn't feel so bad about calling him that. _Least, now I know he's human and not some drone_. "We'll get ya something to relax in... probably a cell or something, if I know Nell."

Arik frowned slightly for a second before shrugging slowly. He hadn't thought that far ahead, actually, but realized that the bruiser had a point. There would be a holding cell with his name on it at this point, after all. He'd attacked Orange Star, in their eyes, and he'd likely be brought up under some sort of charges for war crimes at peacetime as a result... _even if I hadn't been the one who attacked them_, he told himself. "Well, hopefully my men and I won't be in the brig for too long. I personally hate not being able to move about when I want, ya know." he told the big man, who shrugged slightly before turning to bellow an order at his troops.

Then there was an explosion behind them, and then another. Ranging shots! Arik groaned slightly as he felt the shudders of the earth nearby from the impacts of cannon shells fired from battleships. "Dammit. Sheila's not about to just give up!" he said aloud, looking over his shoulder to check out what was happening behind them. There were plumes of fire and smoke, remains of the shells striking the ground not too far away. "We gotta get outta here... And, I'd like to keep my tank, if you don't mind." Arik told Max, who nodded and bellowed at his troops again before actually speaking to the assembled CO's.

"Alright you guys, let's go. Those battleships will be dealt with soon enough." Max told his friends- he'd taken the advisor's words to heart, and followed up on that advice. His subs were already on the move, to wipe out the battleships. Once they were gone, the enemy would send out subs and cruisers to locate his units... well, most likely. With a grin, Max waved his troops back inland, to where the battleships couldn't continue to fire on them. Wherever they came from, they'd probably have to be going back soon- not even Eagle could span a distance like they had without running low on fuel! Andy grinned as he came up alongside Max, arm still in a sling, as Max headed towards his personal Neotank.

"Just like old times, 'eh?" he asked, and Max grinned in response before nodding in agreement. _Old times... yeah, less than a year ago_! he told himself, even as he climbed the ladder up along the Neotank's side and back onto the top of the tank. The other CO's were gathered around that strange hovering tank as its crew got back into the tank's crew bay and started it back up. Andy grinned before heading back slowly, clutching at his arm. A rough trip, hm? Well, there were plenty of doctors back at the base, and if that Sheila person that the new kid had said wasn't going to give up, then that woman would have a nasty surprise waiting for her. But that was only if she decided to follow them all the way inland. According to the previous battle's reports, she had only sent the hover tanks and aerial units in to land, with the landers landing on the beach only very late in the battle.

And if she was to do the same thing here... _hehe, she'll be very surprised by what I'll be bringing into the battlefield_, Max thought as he slipped back into the Neotank. _I'm the king of direct combat_! "Move out!" he yelled, and Max was satisfied when he heard the rumbling of the tank's engine roar into life once more, and the spinning of treads on the ground beneath the nearly 'walking' tank. He heard a high pitched whine as the tank turned around, and recognized it as the whine that had caught his attention when they had caught up with that hovertank. Now, that'd be a fun ride, he figured, and with a grin Max sat down in his seat and let his driver do his work as he buckled up.

---

"That went well..." Arik considered, as he sat against the front of the infantry bay on the deck of the hovercraft. He had little to do and no one to talk to, at this point, other than the other commanding officers who were huddled near each other not too far away. Jess was always by herself though- _why_, he asked himself, as he watched the woman for a moment. A glance in his direction from her forced his gaze away from the redhead, and Arik sighed softly. _She hadn't even come all the way into my room, back on the lander_, he thought. Again, the Silver Mountain CO had to wonder why that was? He looked to the group of three who had huddled with each other- Sami, Andy, and Sonja. Sonja was on Andy's right, and checking on his arm to make sure that it was still set correctly and such. Sami was on Andy's left, watching their back by looking straight ahead. Andy was speaking with Sonja, of course, and they smiled to one another briefly.

Arik sighed as he watched them do that. It was nice that their countries were so well liked by one another that they could get along as they were. He envied the two for their closeness, and wished that he could afford to do the same. The few times he'd ever managed to go out, after the 'incident'... _well, they'd all ended badly, so why dwell on it_, he told himself. How much longer until they reached the base that Max was leading them towards? That bruiser's Neotank wasn't actually all that slow, but it was compared to this hovertank. He smiled a little, remembering his little part in ensuring that this particular unit got placed in active duty after the prototype stage. _Too bad it was so expensive_, he thought, _even if it is cheaper than Neotanks are_.

Arik closed his eyes and attempted to relax, though it was certainly impossible to do so. The explosions were getting closer, especially since the lay of the land forced their group to follow along parallel to the beach. Mountains made it difficult to traverse back to the base for quite a way to the north, and to the south there was no base available. To the west was the ocean and to the east there was a mountain range that made it impossible to get to the base in that direction... Unless it was infantry, anyway. Of course, he didn't know where Orange Star's bases were, especially since he'd never been here before.

_Never been here before_... his mind echoed, and unknown to himself, Arik's shoulders slumped a bit. Of course he hadn't been here before. Orange Star was a new country to him. He'd left his homeland to come here, and now look what's happened! _I'm a wanted criminal at home now_. _Probably branded as a traitor_. _Damned Sheila_. _She never did stop to think about things sometimes_. Arik just wished he could jump himself off the hovertank at this point. It would be easier on the paperwork for all sides involved, wouldn't it? _I'll never have a real life, here or in Silver Mountain_, he told himself. It was the truth, too. For the longest time, he'd wanted only several very basic things. To protect people, and to try and live his life, all at the same time.

But now...

"Hey, Arik!" came a voice that snapped him out of his reverie. Arik opened his eyes immediately and looked around slowly, only to find Sami, Andy, and Sonja to be watching him. He blinked in surprise as he watched them for a second, trying to determine who had yelled at him.

"Ah... yeah?" he asked quietly. Then he realized that he hadn't spoken loud enough for them to hear him, and then he repeated himself, much louder now. Sonja seemed to peer at him strangely, as if noticing some piece of food on his face after a dinner. Damned inspections.

"Are... are you alright, Arik?" came her voice, just loud enough to be heard over the whine of the fans beneath the hovertank. Arik shrugged a little, blinking once more- and squeezing out a tear or two as a result. He didn't feel the moisture or the cold this time- both were sensations that he hadn't felt for quite a while now, save for hot water anyway. He swept a hand up to brush beneath his eyes, along his cheeks, and then blinked as he saw the streaks of water upon his fingertips. _When did I start crying_?

"Um... yeah, I'm okay." he said in return, even as a particularly close explosion came close to throwing them all off the tank. It had occurred right in front of the tank, no less, and the whine of the fans beneath the craft strained as it had to come up with enough air to churn in order to get them over the impact crater that had just been formed. As a result, the rocking of the tank got much worse, and he had to grasp the rail to stay in place. The others seemed to be doing fine, including Jes, he saw, as he looked back over towards her. She was staring off into the distance, as if trying to see the battleships that were firing at them. There was a pair of explosions, just a second later, out over the water as Battleships were attacked, likely by submarines, and sunk as a result of Max's attack. "_Damn... That's a lot of firepower_!" Arik thought to himself, as he turned to face the same direction.

"How in the hell did that happen?" he asked aloud, though far too quietly to be heard by any of the others. The amount of firepower requried to down one of Sheila's battleships must have been overwhelming. Even he'd be hard pressed to provide enough defensive counter to keep his troops safe from that kind of a blast. With a shake of his head, Arik sighed slowly. Max must switch his firepower to some sort of explosive in order to cause extra damage... or something. That kinda firepower was unheard of back in Silver Mountain. If Sheila survived, then Lance would learn of it. And that would cause extraordinary problems for Orange Star in the future, he knew. "_But, when would Sheila attempt to give up on me_?" He asked himself.

The cannon shells stopped flying a moment later as the attack lessened, and then died down finally. With a blink, Arik looked around, attempting to watch the sea even as they passed by forests between them and the ocean itself. He closed his eyes slowly, and smiled a little as he let himself drift away. This day had been immensely draining, and with darkness creeping up on him, sleep itself sounded better than being home. He curled up on the deck, somehow managing to fall asleep despite the pitched whine of the fans beneath the craft. The four CO's soon saw him asleep, and at least one smiled.

---

There was one CO who was not smiling in the slightest. The scowl on her face showed her rage as her beloved battleships were sunk from surprise attacks that must have been from torpedoes. Obviously, Orange Star's submarines were on the prowl, but what really pissed Sheila off was the fact that they sunk her ships so easily! Her navy was without peer in Silver Mountain. Superior firepower was her trademark, as well as her use of aircraft, but how had the submarines managed to sneak up on her ships so effortlessly? "Dammit..." she said from between gritted teeth. The urge to defeat the enemy, so close and yet unable to be struck yet, was overwhelming, but she didn't have the ships to do it with.

_Arik had his troops trained well_, she reflected. At the first sign of attempting to stage a coup of the second fleet, the younger CO's men immediately dispersed towards the northern Orange Star sectors, towards the ports that had been reported before the attack had happened upon the transport copter. They'd been forgotten during the powerful bombardment that had taken place afterwards on her part, of course. _One defeats the enemy's ability to to defeat infantry before moving in to secure the facilities, after all_. She knew this all too well, for her people were trained to be in the air and on the ocean, but the land was her one main weakness. That was the reason for Arik, Lance had told the older CO.

"Damn! Lance, why didn't you tell me he was a possible security problem." she muttered to herself, staring out the window towards the beach that she had been upon not too long ago. Who would've guessed that her friend would turn traitor after the attack that he had barely survived? It made her seeth- made her hate Arik more than she hated anyone, including that damned brat Net. _He'd have a field day_, she realized, when he would finally hear about what had happened here. No one defected from Silver Mountain. No one had ever had any reason to want to do so, but here was the first traitor in recent history... _and he would escape_! Sheila knew he would. _None from Silver Mountain could possibly catch Arik when he didn't want to be. He was too tough for any sort of assault, and his troops were trained to be just as tough_. Sheila knew all this, and turned away as the last explosion of a battleship nearby caused the carrier to rock.

"Prepare to depart. Leave the traitors be. We'll return later to deal with them." she told her first officer. He looked incredulous as she walked away from the bridge. The entire compartment was silent as he turned around to relay the order to his fellow shipmates. Sheila sighed softly and began taking mental notes about this campaign. She'd never suffered such losses before, in any campaign she'd ever been a part of. She smiled a little bit as she considered the role of these last two battles in the grand scheme of things. She felt better now that she thought about it. _There will be another time_, she told herself. _It won't end like this, not by a long shot. I'll be back, and you won't enjoy it then, traitor_.

---

In a hidden base (of course)

---

"Ah, the simple things in life that spice everything up... Dear me, Lash, are you bored already?" came Adder's voice. He smiled slowly as he saw the young girl attempting to keep herself awake only moments after the destruction of the Battleships. She looked at him and grinned slowly. _Of course she was_, the lanky man told himself. _Unless she was playing with someone, or planning to do so with some new toy, she never really managed to stay interested in anything for long_. The battle was over now, with that fleet escaping from Orange Star now as Orange Star's convoy continued northwards. It had been merely hours since the beginning of the battle, and now it had already finished. _These Silver Mountain blokes certainly couldn't last long sometimes_, Adder thought. Unlike Black Hole, who had managed to keep battles going for days on end all the time, no matter what.

"Well, you have to admit, only using ships to fight with is pretty dumb, Adder. Whoever's in that fleet sure doesn't like to use other units, huh?" she said to him, and then grinned slightly. _She'd like to meet that person_, Adder realized, and he smiled slowly as a plan came to mind. A delicious plan that even Lash would enjoy, he decided, and then motioned his young 'friend' closer to him. Whispering ensued, despite the fact that they were alone in the room. A squeel of delight erupted from the young girl with the afro as she jumped up from the bed and clapped her hands once or twice. "That's a great idea! And we have just the toys to play with that fleet with, now don't we?" she asked him, to which Adder nodded simply.

"Indeed we do, Lash. You'll need to move fast to catch them, though, or else they might escape even my range before it's too late." he told her, and she just winked at him before dashing to the door. She slowed as she neared it, and with a hand on the doorknob, she turned to face the wiry man as she smiled slowly. Adder watched her, amused, as she watched him for a few moments before opening her mouth. When she did, he had a rather good idea as to what she was going to say to him.

"I'm taking my two new toys today, 'kay?" she informed him, and Adder smiled to her before nodding in acknowledgment. She jumped up and grinned maliciously as she turned the knob of the door and walked out. The door remained open just long enough for him to hear the sound of gasps as she ordered the two guards to go with her. At the closing of the door, Adder raised his cup of coffee and smiled grimly, as if to salute the two that had just been taken by the craziest CO that Black Hole had to offer these days.

"Goodbye, my little pawns... and good luck." he said, almost fondly, before taking a sip of the coffee and smiling again. _The television would be boring for the next few days... at least for now_, he thought to himself. _At least now, he'd have something to look forward to_. _Thursday would be the day_. Then, all hell just might break loose. And the next phase of his plan, long in the making and now with a little twist, would finally begin. It was always good to hold a long lasting chance to change the path of people who didn't know him... and even of those who did, too. "And now, my pawns..." he murmured to himself, turning to the television set that he'd had stolen not too long ago. "Now, you are mine once more." he said, the camera man showing the convoy of tanks and such units on Orange Star's land as they moved north. With a small grin, the arrogant man just watched for a moment, a single word forming in his mind. _Delicious_.

---

Author's Note: A little short, I know. And I've yet to bring in any more Black Hole CO's. But, though I'm not too sure about this new format that I'm trying here, I hope you guys enjoy. Pointers and reviews are always welcome, of course. One question though: Did I scare some of you guys off, or was it just the Christmas/New Year's holiday? Suggestions taken as well, and I've yet to include that pairing, too. I haven't decided if I'm going to bring it in yet or not, either. I may have to cut this series up a bit, too, in order to fit everything (and everyone) into it. What would you guys think about something like that happening?


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